PREVENTING PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY START

Some family tips from

 

ParentsCare

Putting Parents And Children First

Through Family Enrichment Programs

 

“Coming together is a beginning,

keeping together is progress, working together is success.”

 

Poor family management skills lie at the heart of the breakdown in the family and in child/parent relationships.  These breakdowns in the family system can lead to problems and dis-connections within the family in within the community.  Problems such as chronic despair and stress, child abuse and neglect, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, mental illness, school failure, crime and violence and teen suicide. 

 

                    Poor family management skills translate into:

 

            *the inability to recognize and cope with a child’s development stages

            *potential for abuse and neglect

            *poor communication among family members

            *children and adults unable to recognize their full potential

            *lack of respect for each other

            *lack of interest in the child’s education

            *inability to effectively solve problems

            *lack of knowledge

            *lost hope and motivation

          

 

Regardless of how one defines family, the family is the basic institution through which children learn who they are, how to behave, where they fit in society and what kinds of futures they are likely to experience.  Within the basic family unit

many family management skills are necessary to ensure that each member of the family successfully completes the transition into the next stage of life.

 

                  Five qualities that characterize a strong family are:

                       

*spending substantial amounts of “good” time together

            *insisting on respectful continuing communication among all members

            *showing appreciation and affections for each other

            *dealing with crises positively and effectively

            *maintaining a strong commitment to family life

           

 

 

 

2.

 

 

Family management skills are necessary for maintaining a happy and successful self, marriage, home, for raising children, and for interacting with one’s extended family including the community at large.

 

                   These skills include such things as:

 

            *effective communication

            *promotion of self-esteem and respect for self and others

            *emphasis on education

            *effective problem solving

            *building a foundation of principles and values

            *personal involvement of both parents, or extended caretakers

            *modeling healthful behaviors

            *providing a safe environment

            *an understanding of the different development stages of life

 

 

The developing of a healthy Self, Caretaking Team and Home lead toward the desire for and commitment to gaining more Knowledge about the most important job an adult will ever have…parent.  The degree of health to which a parent grows will determine if that parent will have a high level of Response-Ability instead of remaining in conflict and confusion with a high level of Response-Disability.  The more competent a parent becomes in responding to the inevitable growth behaviors of adults and children, the more their lives will come together in good and healthy ways.