ALL parents in the Middlesbrough area with a child under the age of five are now eligible to receive free parenting classes as part of the CAN Parent scheme.

The national charity 4Children is urging parents to get involved in the free offer which has been providing parents with vouchers worth 100 through local Boots stores, local children's centres, GP surgeries, midwives and health visitors for them to spend on the CAN parent classes and advice networks.

The potential demand for parenting classes is huge: a recent YouGov poll found that 69 per cent of adults aged 25 to 39 agreed or strongly agreed that all parents should receive information on how to access high quality parenting classes. With that in mind, initiatives like the CAN Parent scheme should strike a chord with parents for whom added support would be welcome.

Not all parents are aware of the CAN Parent scheme, but for those that are, the first classes have shown that CAN Parent is helping to make parenting easier.

Commenting on the classes, Sue Robb, head of early years at 4Children said: "These classes should not be seen as an admission of failure - there should be no stigma around them: instead, it should be a healthy norm, just as ante-natal classes are now considered a normal part of pregnancy.

"In the present economic climate, we cannot afford to wait until parents are in crisis before we offer them guidance. 4Children hope the pilot will show that by offering courses to a range of parents - and especially by getting fathers actively engaged - a whole range of skills can be developed and parents' confidence in their abilities can rise along with better knowledge of where to go for help and support."