PREREQUISITE FOR A COURSE CALLED: PARENTING

There isn't any. Anybody can become a parent any time anywhere and, depending on the culture, at an age when the mother-to-be can still be a child herself.....it's a bit scary....

Becoming a parent is a case of being 'thrown in at the deep end' and either sink or swim. Most of us feel as if we're treading water frantically for the first few weeks after the birth of our first child until, at some stage, we realize that we haven't drowned yet and have actually begun to swim!
It's quite overwhelming to be in charge of a small, helpless and immature being twenty four hours a day.
However, seen from a baby's point of view we only need one person, one human to welcome us, hold us, feed us, show us around in this world of tastes, smells, textures, sounds and colours....Further down the track,  all it takes is one person, it doesn't have to be the same one, to inspire us how to be the best we can be,  how to help each other and contribute to the common good.  [Recommended viewing: http://www.ted.com/].

Seen from the adult's point of view every new born provides us with the opportunity to make a new start, to transcend our 'animal' nature and develop our 'divine' nature, to become creators ourselves in the course of that process of parenting.
On becoming a parent we start with simply nurturing and caring for a baby. By means of these very practical physical activities we get to know and come to love the baby, The Other, and  we get to know ourselves, because our personal journey in finding meaning in life never finishes.
Love is not a prerequisite, it's more often than not, a result of understanding each other and the feeling of connection this brings. In addition, the actions of looking after one's baby often result in an increase in confidence and belief in one's own abilities.
Since each child and parent form a unique combination, the lessons provided in this very personal and individually tailored development course are many and varied and at times challenging; that is when the creative process of parenting becomes really exciting....