The building of relationships with families is a continuous dynamic process that is based on the contributions of the parties involved. The development of a sense of belonging is an integral aspect of our daily lives. Involvement in family affairs is crucial in building relationships with families. The building of relationships with families provides a strong foundation for communication and the ability to help each other during difficult moments. Families that have strong relationships can trust each other recognize the value of collaboration. Children are nurtured by families to develop healthy relationships and capacities to succeed in life. Collaboration among family members helps people towards the attainment of personal goals and completion of education. Positive family relationships develop over time and are based on mutual respect, trust and provision for chances for two-way communications. Strong family relationships assist in reducing stress and isolation among family members for the wellness of each other. Building relationships with families is an important aspect.
Importance of Building Relationships with Families
Building relationships with families foster support for children and families. Having positive relationships ensures that children succeed in early learning and experience healthy development. Positive interactions among family members ensure that children develop skills that enable them to succeed in life and school (Jacobsen, & Thompson, 2016). For example, children are in a position to manage emotions, behaviors, adapt to new situations, resolve conflicts and be able to have healthy relationships in the future.
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Also, building relationships in a family promote the attainment of goals. Positive relationships promote improved health and safety due to enhanced leadership skills and financial stability. Families are resourceful and play an integral part in deciding crucial things that matter to family members and the goals can be turned into realities. Parents assist children in learning and developing into important people both in the family and society. Parents intend wellness for their children hence provide them with emotional and concrete support required to attain their goals.
Researched-Based Strategies of Building Relationships with Families
Perspective taking is a strategy of building relationships with families. The recognition of the contributions of the family and children assists in fostering effective engagement in a family. People have varying beliefs, attitudes and perspectives that are either personal or based on their professional that affects interactions in a family. It is essential to appreciate the contributions of each person based on their stage of development, behavior, emotion, and temperament (Early Childhood National Centers, 2016). The understanding and appreciating of individual differences in a family help in the development of shared goals and positive outcomes. It is necessary for parents to understand the interests, goals, challenges, and strengths of their children to be able to create a shared agenda.
Secondly, the understanding of the cultural beliefs and family structures foster useful connectedness among family members. Knowledge about cultural beliefs and priorities determines the direction of the family. Cultural beliefs entail various issues including home language, experiences, family traditions, community norms and ethnic identity (Walsh, 2015). Culture affects the way people behave and make decisions concerning their children and family issues. Cultural beliefs are reflected in caregiving practices, family roles, and education. Experiences and cultures shape perspectives concerning family relationships. The understanding of the culture of a family is a learning process that requires patience, commitment and willingness to associate with the family.
Fostering the access of low –income families to development and family support initiatives promotes strong family relationships. Higher-risk families can be helped in every community require high-quality infant and toddler development. Policies streamlined towards the development of infants and toddlers need to be developed to ensure family support programs are in place. The involvement of high-risk families in the comprehensive child development and family support initiatives assist in eliminating depression and promote positive parenting outcome (Knitzer, & Lefkowitz, 2006). Mothers who are depressed experience reduced interactions with their children who are more engaged and attentive. Also, parents who are under Early Head Start are less likely to employ harsh discipline strategies because they have broader positive strategies that enable them to deal with parent-child conflict.
The three strategies for building family relationships are aligned to the authoritative parenting style. The authoritative parenting style requires the setting of high expectations for attainment and call for open discussions (Hoskins, 2014). The strategy is suitable because parents are required to set high family expectations that children need to achieve. Open discussions allow children and parents to share ideas freely, issues, challenges, and expectations hence have strong family relationships.
The perspective taking a strategy will require family days out. Taking families out exposes children and family members to a varying environment where they exhibit different behaviors. Family days out provide people with an opportunity to understand each other as compared to sitting in front of a television watching a specific a program. Parenting is a resource that provides essential information that boosts the understanding of family structures. Parenting entails information about several stages of development, tips for expecting parents and advice on how to handle various situations based on the culture. Lastly, fostering the access of low –income families to development and family support initiatives requires the use of a family journal. The family journal is integral to family communication and the development of support programs to promote healthy family relationships.
In conclusion, the building of relationships with families is integral in promoting support for children and families and attainment of goals. Various strategies are used in building relationships with families including the perspective taking of children and family members, understanding of family structures and coming up with development programs. The parenting style determines the strategy to be used in building relationships with family.
References
Early Childhood National Centers. (2016). Building Partnerships: Guide to Developing Relationships with Families. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/building-partnerships-developing-relationships-families.pdf
Hoskins, D. (2014). Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes. Societies , 4 (3), 506-531.
Jacobsen, S. L., & Thompson, G. (2016). Working with Families. Music therapy with families: Therapeutic approaches and theoretical perspectives , 309.
Knitzer, J., & Lefkowitz, J. (2006). Helping the most vulnerable infants, toddlers, and their families.
Walsh, F. (2015). Strengthening family resilience . Guilford Publications.
