aren’t that many 8-year-old boys who’d do that. Ijust, and I think that’s good
for him, because it boosts his self-esteem - he can do that, of course he can do
that. And he can turn on the television, so of course he can turn on the washing
machine I mean, it’s actually simpler - there’s only one button to press. ”
Clara has done a childcare course, which has helped her to interact with her child. She
knows how to treat him now, how to play with him more, to read him books, to do
things with paper. They both enjoy the time more now.
Mandisa’s family learning group involved making things to play with, with her child.
This was something she had always wanted to do, but never had the time. She felt
good about it and “ he was really chuffed, like Mfy mum made this for me’ ... that bit
was really nice and watching him play with it”. Mandisa is also learning about
children of her son’s age through her work at the school, which has taught her greater
tolerance. Before, she had high expectations of him that may have been unrealistic for
a four-year-old.
“ I wasn’t aware that I was doing that until I came into the school and I became
a little more relaxed and not so bothered about, to a certain extent, about the
things that he did. ”
But similar effects come from studying that is not explicitly geared to parenting or
family life. Naomi says:
“ I’ve got more patience ... I think I got a lot of that from my tutor, actually,
because the way she’s sat with me and helped me. I learnt from her to sit and
help [my daughter]. ”
This is a specific consequence of Naomi’s better understanding of the process of
learning.
Faith thinks she is a better mum because she has other interests:
“I mean, there ,s nothing wrong with people who stay at home all the time;
that’s up to them, but I know I couldn’t do it and I think because I’m happier,
because I’ve got my own interest and own little life, that I’m a better mum to
them ... I think I can deal with them better because I’ve got other things that
fulfil my life and what I need to do. The time I spend with them, I suppose, is
more precious to me, you know, I can make more of it. ”
Candice’s literacy and numeracy courses have given her a lot of ideas about games
and activities to do with the children. They have learned social skills, e.g. about how
to deal with bullying. Her courses on disability have taught the children about
disability issues and brought them into contact with handicapped people.
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