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Educating Children for Parenting: Learning All About Us You might call Doug Stallings of West Philadelphia an exemplary dad. He and his wife have a son in the second grade, a daughter in kindergarten and are expecting a third child soon. Sometimes, his mornings are spent in class with his daughter. He regularly helps out at her school as a volunteer with Educating Children for Parenting, a local nonprofit organization. As part of the ECP program, which trains teachers in how to promote child-care and nurturing skills, Stallings and his wife recently visited their son's class at the Mann School, at 54th Street and Berks Avenue in West Philadelphia. Stallings explained what it is like to expect a baby, how this affects his other children, how he feels about his children, and other facts about his family life. "Fatherhood is a learning experience. From the time I had my first son, Preston, I learned as I went along. I also learned, from my children, things about myself and how to handle things," Stallings says. "We just try to do a lot together, talk a lot. This way, we try to figure everything out." "Fatherhood is a learning experience. From the time I had my first son, Preston, I learned as I went along. I also learned, from my children, things about myself and how to handle things," Stallings says. "We just try to do a lot together, talk a lot. This way, we try to figure everything out."

"Let's study our own species" Stallings is not the only one volunteering to teach about parenthood. At 10 a.m., a mother and her infant arrive at Bache-Martin Public School in Fairmount. What is a drooling baby doing at school? He and his mother are the topic of today's lesson. Every month, this parent-infant pair visits students with the ECP program. Founded in 1978, ECP is a Philadelphia-based operation which has grown from a demonstration model into a national organization. ECP conducts programs in public and private schools in urban, suburban and rural communities. These lessons on our own species are derived from a concept that is revolutionary yet simple: Everyone is fascinated by babies. By the time children are in third grade, they already have a concept of the meaning of parenthood, based on what is done at home. Young children take much of what they learn with them through the rest of their lives, which is why education must start as early as possible, and adolescence is too late to begin educating children about parenting. This program attempts to influence their choices as future parents and providers. The organization believes that ultimately this program may help reverse the trend of violence and abuse of children. During these classroom visits, students follow a fundamental scientific process. The monthly parent-infant visit provides opportunities for the children to observe the infant's growth and behavioral development, and to interact with the parent and infant. In a videotape about the ECP program, a teacher asks, "Should the father hold the baby when she cries? Should he change her diaper?" Most of her students say, "Yes!" One student says, "No! He shouldn't do it because he's a man!" This is the big opportunity to teach that responsibility must be shared by each member of the family. By having a father come in with his baby, the children are able to see a man like Doug Stallings can do essentially everything the mother does: He coddles and feeds the baby and changes her diaper, and it does not at all make him any "less of a man," but in fact, it shows that it takes a man to truly be a father. After each session, students are asked to share the results of their observations and activities with the parent and infant. They record and monitor the infant's physical, emotional, cognitive and social development, as well as the parent's role in caring for the child. Teachers have remarked that as the program progresses, many students gain competence in decision making, problem solving and interpersonal relations -- all important skills that can last a lifetime. For more information about ECP's volunteer program, contact Susan Grossinger at (215) 496-9780 or send an e-mail to educhild@libertynet.org by Soo-Min Oh