1. Building Strong Families
Chapter 3
Building Strong Families

2. Family Characteristics
Chpt 3.1

3. Qualities of Strong Families
Work together to provide for the needs of the family and prepare for children to live in our society
Spend time together
Share responsibilities
Work together to resolve differences
Listen to each other with an open mind
Allow each other to express opinions and share feelings
Share goals and values
Show appreciation for each other
Qualities of Strong Families

4. Functions of the Family
Meet basic needs
Food, clothing, shelter, health, and safety.
Strong families will also meet emotional and social needs too.
Living in a family teaches sharing and teamwork.
Strong families will also meet intellectual needs
Prepare children to live in society
Adults teach children what is important to people in their society using three ways:
Through Example – Showing them how to behave
Through Communication – Telling them how to behave
Through Religious Training – Principals of right and wrong through a spiritual aspect
Functions of the Family

5. Provide Support Family members support each other
A support system is needed to keep a family together
Friends, families, and local agencies can all help form a support system to support families
Provide Support

6. Spending time together is the foundation to building a strong family
A tradition is a custom that is followed over time
Families that form traditions form strong ties with each other
Traditions provide a sense of continuity, understanding, and appreciation that brings a family together
Traditions provide a family with time together to communicate, heal from loss, adapt to new events, affirm family values, celebrate, and connect to the past
Form Traditions

7. Celebration Traditions – Activities or events around special occasions
Birthdays, holidays, etc.
Family Traditions – Events and special activities created to fit a family’s lifestyle
Vacations, family meetings, etc.
Patterned Family Interactions – Actions centered on daily routines in life
Dinner, bedtime, etc.
Types of Traditions

8. Values are the beliefs held by an individual, family, community, or society.
In a strong family, everyone is committed to one another.
The family is built on shared values
With a strong foundation of shared values, children feel more at ease.
People who learn trust in the family tend to see the world as a safe place.
Share Values

9. Handle Family Conflict
When families resolve their conflicts successfully, the whole family is stronger.
Tips for handling conflicts effectively:
Keep cool
Be an active listener
Use positive body language
Handle Family Conflict

10. Family Structure Nuclear Families Single-Parent Families
Blended Families
Extended Families
Joining Families
Family Structure

11. A family that includes a mother and father, and at least one child.
Two parents who help raise the children
Nuclear Families

12. Single-Parent Families
One that includes either a mother or father and at least one child.
Absent parent may have died or left after a divorce, or the parents may never have married
Raising a child alone is a demanding job
Many single parents receive help from friends or relatives
If in the case of divorce, the child would live with the custodial parent, and have visitation with the other parent.
Single-Parent Families

13. Formed when a single parent marries another person, who may or may not have children.
To a child, the parent’s new spouse becomes a step parent.
To the new spouse, the children become step children.
If both spouses have children, they become stepbrothers and stepsisters.
Parents and children will need time to adjust to one another
Patience, tolerance for different opinions and habits, and a sense of humor can help families overcome the challenges they face.
Blended Families

14. A family that includes a parent or parents, at least one child, and other relatives who live with them.
Examples:
A grandparent who lives with a nuclear family
An aunt who lives with a single-parent family
Extended Families

15. Joining a Family When a child joins a family through a legal process
Legal guardians – a person who is designated by a legal process to assume responsibility for raising a child
Adoption
A legal process in which children enter a family into which they were not born into
Foster Care
Foster child - A child that comes from a troubled family or difficult circumstances and is placed in the temporary care of another person or family
Foster parents care for foster children, giving them a home while their parents solve their problems, or sometimes until a permanent adoptive home can be found.
Adults apply to the state government to become licensed foster parents.
They receive payment to help with the expense of caring for the child.
Joining a Family

16. Trends Affecting Families
Mobility
Many adults move, so families are not as close as they used to be
Aging Population
There are a larger number of older people living than in the past
Grandparents are now helping raise children, more than ever
Economic Changes
Many families struggle to make ends meet
Due to this, many families are smaller than ever because of rising costs
Workplace Changes
Types of jobs are shifting, more unemployment than ever
Growing number of people who work outside of the home
Technology
Increase efficiency at home and work
Monitoring social networking sites, and setting time limits
Growing need to make sure children are using technology safely and within reasonable limits
Trends Affecting Families

17. Check for Understanding
What are two functions of the family?
Analyze the similarities and differences among the four family structures described.
Identify three trends that affect families.
Check for Understanding

18. Parenting Skills
Chpt 3.2

19. Children’s Needs Parenting is a learned process that occurs each day
Children’s needs can be grouped into three categories
Physical Needs –
Food, shelter, and clothing
Emotional and Social Needs
Making sure children feel safe, loved, and cared for
This allows children to learn how to make friends and work with other people
Intellectual Needs
Need stimulation and the opportunity to learn about the world and become educated
Parents and caregivers help prepare children for life as independent adults.
Children’s Needs

20. Parenting Styles Authoritarian Assertive-Democratic Permissive
Children should obey their parents without question
When rules are broken, the parent typically responds quickly and firmly
Assertive-Democratic
Children have more input into rules and limits at home
When rules are broken, the parent believes children learn best from accepting the results of their actions or by problem solving together to find an acceptable punishment
Permissive
Parents give children a wide range of freedom
Children usually set their own rules
Encouraged to think for themselves and not follow trends.
Rule breaking is usually ignored
Parenting Styles

21. Guide Children’s Behavior
Guidance means using firmness and understanding to help children learn how to behave
Self-discipline is the ability to control one’s one behavior
Conscience is an inner sense of what is right
Guide Children’s Behavior

22. Be a Role Model Children learn best by being shown what to do
They constantly watch those around them and then imitate the behaviors they see
“Actions speak louder than words”
This applies to all behaviors, not just positive ones
Be a Role Model

23. Give Effective Direction
Be sure you have the child’s attention
Be polite
Use positive statements
Use specific words that they child can understand
Begin with an action verb
Give a limited number of directions at a time
Be clear
Give praise and love
Give Effective Direction

24. Set Limits A way to guide children toward appropriate, safe behavior.
The following questions can help parents determine limits:
Does the limit allow the child to learn, explore, and grow?
Is the limit fair and appropriate for the child’s age?
Does the limit benefit the child, or is it just for the adult’s convenience?
Set Limits

25. Provide Positive Reinforcement
A response that encourages a particular behavior
Can be used to help change a problem behavior and to strengthen a good behavior
Be specific
Comment on the behavior as soon as possible
Recognize small steps
Help children take pride in their actions
Tailor the encouragement to the needs of the child
Use positive reinforcement wisely
Provide Positive Reinforcement

26. Deal with Inappropriate Behavior
All children will misbehave from time to time
A child’s age should shape an adult’s response to inappropriate behavior
Questions to consider when deciding how to respond to misbehavior:
Is the expected behavior appropriate, given the child’s age and development?
Does the child understand that the behavior was wrong?
Did the child do the behavior knowingly and deliberately, or was it beyond the child’s control?
Deal with Inappropriate Behavior

27. Negative Reinforcement
A response aimed at strengthening desired behavior by removing an unpleasant trigger.
When deciding which method of negative reinforcement to use, parents and other caregivers often find that what works for one child may not be effective for another.
Ideas:
Natural Consequences – Suffer from the result of their action
Logical Consequences – Something that makes sense, but may not be the natural consequence
Loss of Privileges – Taking away a privilege as result of a behavior
Time-Out – short period of time in which a child sits away from other people and the center of the activity
Negative Reinforcement

28. Poor Disciplinary Measures
Bribing
Making children promise to behave
Shouting or yelling
Shaming or belittling
Threatening to Withhold Love
Exaggerating Consequences
Poor Disciplinary Measures

29. Consistency in Guidance
Being consistent, or continually the same, is the key to guiding children’s behavior.
Clearly making rules and applying them in the same way whenever the situation occurs.
It helps children know what is expected of them
It also lets them know what response to expect from parents
Extremely important when there is more than one caregiver
Consistency in Guidance

30. Check for Understanding
Identify four factors that are part of nurturing
Explain why it is important to set limits
List two ways to deal with inappropriate behavior
Check for Understanding