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12-year-old Brian Dix takes karate lessons. So does his mom.

“He was in it for about a year before I joined,” says mom Kerry Dix. “I sat up in the bleachers and watched him, thought, ‘Hmm, that sounds kind of interesting.’”

The karate instructor started a class that parents and kids can take together, after he noticed moms and dads waiting on the sidelines.

“I had parents that were not necessarily bored watching,” says instructor Marc Garduque, “but were interested and wanted to do it themselves – but weren’t able to devote the time to enroll themselves in a separate class.”

Now, parent-child classes are a growing trend – with courses like cooking, tennis, pottery, and yoga.

Jeff Flamer signed up for karate with his daughter, Sunshine.

“I see so many parents out there jogging and I think that’s great, but they could be spending that time with their child,” he says. “Whereas I’m here, I’m spending time with my child – and I’m doing exercise.”

“We like to learn together, we are a team,” says eight-year-old Sunshine.

Carla Coe takes karate class with her entire family.

“I can’t think of any other sport or activity that we all do, all four us together,” says Carla. “And my husband tends to work late, and this gets him home and gets him involved.”

Parents hope the time spent together in class will bring them closer to their children.

“We do it twice a week for class,” says Kerry Dix, “but then we also practice at home quite a bit. So I think it gives us something very common that, especially with teenage sons, you probably wouldn’t have as much of. So as a mom, it’s a great way to spend time with my boys.”

“There’s not a lot of things we can talk about,” says 12-year-old Brian, “but karate is kind of that one thing that my mom and I can both talk about together.”

What We Need To Know

• One of the best features of a parent-child class is it encourages family bonding. (Marc Garduque, Karate Instructor)
• Realize that teens with a low-level of family bonding are three times more likely to try illicit drugs than teens with a high-level of family bonding. (The National Institute of Drug Abuse)
• There is evidence that children who spend time with their parents, even if it is just eating dinner together, get higher grades, have positive peer groups, and are less likely to have suicidal thoughts. (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University)
• Parent-child classes are also great for families who are trying to become more physically active. (Marc Garduque, Karate Instructor)

Resources

• U.S Department of Health and Human Services
• National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University
• National Institute of Drug Abuse

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