I will make a great Dad

No, this isn't a profile on jdate. I really will. Kids love me, it must be because we communicate on the same level. I also love a lifestyle of sleeping, eating and one or two other things that I won't bring up here. But also I'm fun with them, I make faces, I can make them laugh, I can empathize with older kids, especially when it comes to education. I know what it's like to go through an education at school were no one really takes an interest in what you have to say, the questions you need answers for.

I hope I'll make a great husband. I'd like to think that I am kind, thoughtful, intelligent, caring, loving, passionate etc. I have bags and bags of love to give. Truckloads. Oceans full. Galaxies worth. But I don't know how good a hubby I'll be. And I'll make plenty of mistakes while I am at it.

A brief digression: One explanation for the longevity of the human race at the beginning of time according to the Torah (if we take it literally) is that the first humans had to learn everything from scratch. They had to work out what the limits of the human body are, when to eat, sleep, how to hunt etc. It took them years till they worked it out. That could explain why they waited hundreds of years before having babies.

We now are lucky enough to have the ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN HISTORY up till now. That's why learning and studying is so important. We can learn from our elders, from those with more experience, from people who faced the same challenges as us and made the same mistakes we are about to make. Too often we are not willing to listen to others and learn from them. But we should.

Back to my point - the institution of marriage and parenting seems to be failing on many fronts for a multitude of reasons. I don't have any magical solutions, but I think there are lessons to be learnt. As good a dad and hubby I think I will make (one day, when Rebbetsin RK gets round to making herself known to me) I am sure that there are things I can learn about communication, parenting, education etc. There are probably millions out there who will make worse parents and spouses than me, who could definitely do with some lessons.

I'm not sure where to run with this idea - parenting lessons in high schools? Give high school students a younger kid to look after? It may be better to include communication lessons and parenting lessons in the run-up to marriage amongst the general populace - mandatory parenting lessons? Can that work? Will it have an effect? At least in the Jewish world the Rabbis should include it in the pre-wedding requirements for a chatan and kallah. It can't hurt can it? We can't screw things up more than are doing now.

Thoughts?

TRK