介绍

您对家庭的看法是什么？

When you think of the word “family,” what does it mean to you? Who makes up your family? What kinds of things do you do together? What role do you play in your family? Every family is different and it’s important to keep an open mind about what makes up a family. Each person defines family in his or her own way.

The Meaning of Family

Every family is different and it is important to keep an open mind about what makes up a family. Each person defines family in his or her own way. For some, family may represent those individuals living in the same home (under one roof). For others, family may the infant or toddler’s parents and all of the important adults who help care for the young child, such as grandparents, aunt, uncle, neighbor, or best friend. Family is consistent in the infant or toddler’s life and it is the most important source of information about the child.

美国人口普查局定义familyas a group of two or more people who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and who live together. The National Association for the Education of Young Children suggests that “the termfamily可能包括那些成年人，除了父母，负责参与教育，培育和倡导儿童。“研究和与家庭一起学习和合作的研究人员family作为“两个或两个以上的人，他们把自己看作一个家庭，并且履行家庭通常履行的职能。这些人可能或可能与血液或婚姻有关，并且可能或可能不经常住在一起”（Turnbull、Turnbull、Erwin和Soodk，2006，第7页）。支持家庭的团体和组织，甚至那些收集数据支持家庭的组织，并不总是就构成家庭的一个简单的定义达成一致。对于一个人来说，家庭可以包括一个与婚姻、收养或生物学无关的亲密朋友。对于另一个人来说，家庭可能是一对夫妻，生活在一起。

家庭是儿童生活的中心。特别是在幼儿方面，家庭承担着重要作用，对儿童的福祉和发展产生重大影响。因此，你和你的员工必须欣赏和理解孩子的家庭。

通过您的领导力，您可以创建一个环境，其中家庭在儿童的护理和教育中受到了伙伴的伙伴。实际上，您的计划仅存在，因为家庭;没有他们，没有节目。它只受到家庭必须受到重视的原因。然而，家庭并没有重视，因为你和你的员工说他们是。由于您和您的员工每天都为此而受到重视。

当我们谈论鼓励f的福祉amilies, it’s helpful to step back and think about the changing dynamics of family structure. As associations between marriage, partnering, and childbirth have changed over the last five generations, family structures have become more varied or diverse through same-sex couple families, families with shared custody, families where members have different immigration statuses, and families in which a parent has children with multiple partners. Today, 40 percent of children are now born to unmarried parents. Note that some of these shifts in changing family structures are not always challenges for families, but family complexity is sometimes associated with a greater risk of maltreatment from parents’ unmarried partners, less caregiving from a non-residential parent, and other factors. Like the concept of ‘family,’ the concept of family well-being is also challenging to define. You may recognize it when you see it in your program. Or you may recognize when families lack some aspect of family well-being. As you think about how best to engage with families and model to staff how to do the same, consider your program’s role in strengthening your program families’ protective factors. Many of the behaviors that correspond to positive family functioning can be “taught and strengthened with education.” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019, p. 42).

如何看待今天的家庭？引入以家庭为中心的做法

Because families are central to their children’s development, particularly during the early-childhood years, they are partners, active participants, and decision makers in their children’s education (Dunst, 2002; Dunst, Trivette, & Hamby, 2008; Trivette & Dunst, 2005). As a result,family-centered practiceis considered one of the indicators of quality in early childhood education, programs, and services (Hanson & Lynch, 2004). At the heart offamily-centered practice是相信家庭是孩子生活中最重要的决策者。专业人士必须尊重、支持和增强每个家庭的优势和独特特征。

家庭更加了解他们的孩子，并希望他们最好。谈到他们的孩子，他们是专家。下图确定了以其与您和您的员工支持尊重的家庭为中心的实践，以其在其角色中支持家庭。

Beliefs	Actions
Families are the most important decision-makers in a child’s life.	We learn about families’ ideas and preferences. 我们提供编程方面的选择。 我们让家庭参与项目领导。 我们涉及在决策中的家庭。
家庭是独一无二的，他们的差异丰富了我们的计划。	We honor and respect diversity. 我们涉及孩子生命中的所有重要人物。 We engage and involve families. 我们制定敏感和互惠关系。 我们代表我们的计划中的家庭。
家庭是有弹性的。	We learn about families' strengths, needs, and circumstances. We connect families with resources. We build families' strengths.
家庭是发展和学习的核心。yabo电子游艺	We share information with families. We listen to families. 我们把家庭看作他们孩子的第一个老师。 We respect families' expertise about their child.
Families are our partners.	我们使用尊重，响应和双向沟通。 We reach out to families. We involve families in all aspects of our program.

以家庭为中心的实践促进能力、一致性和连续性。当家庭觉得自己能够胜任父母的角色时，儿童的发展和学习得到支持。当你和你的员工由于协作和共同决策而提高他们的技能时，你和你的员工支持家庭能力。当在家里的事情和他们yabo电子游艺在你的计划中所做的方式之间有一致性和可预测性时，孩子和青年知道什么是期望和感觉更舒服的。一致性使每个人都站在同一页上，加强家庭学校的联系，这对儿童、青年和关心他们的每个人都有好处。当家庭的偏好被邀请并纳入日常生活时，您和您的员工支持一致性。此外，连续性对儿童和青年来说非常重要，特别是在危机时期，因为它能尽量减少可能影响儿童和青年发展和学习的干扰。您和您的员工通过建立支持网络，在需要时连接家庭，从而支持连续性。

在您的计划中尊重多样性

Respecting the families your program serves is at the heart of the work you and your staff do every day. Families are unique. Their structures, beliefs, and parenting practices are shaped by their own experiences and can be very different than those held by you or your staff. Being part of a responsive program means that you demonstrate sensitivity and consideration for the diverse backgrounds, experiences, values, and contexts in which children and families live. Honoring those differences is essential as you build relationships and engage families in meaningful ways to promote positive outcomes for everyone.

家庭有不同的形状和尺寸，我们的多样性应该团结一致，而不是划分我们。响应管理人员展示儿童和家庭生活的多个背景，经验，价值观和背景的敏感性和考虑。对多样性的认识带来了它的实现方式，即我们的行为以及我们所相信的方式与其他人的行为和其他人相信的方式不同。

响应管理人员避免对人群群体和行为或思考方式做出假设。虽然确认差异很重要between不同群体的人，也要认识到群体内的差异。虽然来自特定地理区域或具有特定文化遗产的人之间可能有共同的特征、价值观和属性，但同一群体在价值观或做事方式方面仍然存在着相当大的变化。这在育儿实践方面尤为明显。

Respecting the diversity in parenting styles is just as important as respecting other types of differences. Parenting practices are influenced by a myriad of factors. Those who work with families must be sensitive to practices that are different from how they were parented or how they parent their own children. When it comes to parenting, there is no right way or wrong way that must be followed by everyone; there is only the family’s way. Families and staff want the same things for children and youth – to grow up to be healthy, happy, and successful. At times, staff and families have different approaches and expectations to achieving these goals for their children, which can sometimes lead to misunderstanding and conflict.

Embracing diversity in your work with families and staff will not happen overnight. It is a long process in which people from various backgrounds are challenged to face and understand different points of view, accept new or unfamiliar ways of doing things, and ultimately work together toward a common goal. It is important to understand that this is acollaborative process;就像你可能觉得挑战或困惑,家人ilies may feel the same. As researchers in the field of family and diversity remind us, “the challenge is not so much for service providers to give up their own beliefs as it is to cultivate a habit of learning to understand and respect those of others” (Harry, Rueda & Kalyanpur, 1999).

模型

It is your responsibility to establish expectations regarding the involvement of families in your program. These expectations should be clearly laid out in staff and family handbooks, shared during orientation for new staff and families, and reinforced during staff meetings. Unmet expectations must be addressed. In most cases, these types of issues won’t get resolved without some level of intervention.

You and your program can model family-centered practice each and every day. You may be the first role model a staff member has, so it is critical that you demonstrate a positive, family-centered approach throughout your program. You can be the bridge that helps build and maintain family engagement across classrooms and programs. For example, you can support families and staff members as children transition across age groups and buildings. Think about what staff members and other adults learn from watching your interactions:

What a staff member sees:	工作人员的学习是什么：	What a family member learns:
经理在到达时按名称迎接家庭。	每个家庭都很受重视，这是一个友好的地方。	I am respected by everyone here.
The manager greets a family member who arrives unexpectedly and walks with him to the classroom to visit his son.	家庭总是欢迎。	欢迎光临。
The manager sends thank-you notes to families who volunteered at the Family Movie Night.	Families are appreciated here.	I have important things to contribute.
经理询问父母如果她有时间填写家庭调查。T＆C让她提醒她，当她可以返回它时。	Getting input from families is a priority here.	My voice is heard here and people care about what I have to say.
A manager encourages a family to attend a Parent Advisory Board meeting.	家庭是伴侣。	I can be a leader here.
A manager participates in a community event or takes interest in a family’s traditions.	我们都是同一个社区的一部分。	我孩子的计划是我社区的一部分。

现在想想对家庭的不同行为。员工从这些行为中可以学到什么？

• 当一名员工抱怨家庭时，经理保持沉默。
• 经理专注于文书工作，忽略了一个家庭，因为他们走在大厅里。
• A manager discourages a family from checking on their child during the day.
• 经理鼓励员工计划家长教育活动，而不评估家庭利益。
• 一个经理在八卦中加入了关于该计划的家庭。
• A manager reassures a staff member that an angry parent will be fine and says they “complain all the time just to hear their own voice.”

在你的计划中，你有责任为家庭树立榜样和基调。与项目人员合作，确保明确与家人合作的期望。这些期望应在工作人员和家庭手册中明确列出，在新工作人员和家庭入职培训期间分享，并在工作人员会议期间予以加强。以家庭为中心的期望包括：

• Families are always welcome; they don’t need invitations
• Families are the experts when it comes to their children and you and staff should value their opinions
• 家庭为持续改进提供有价值的投入
• 家庭需要了解他们的孩子的一切;它们不是需要了解的基础
• Families are decision-makers; not just information sources
• 家庭需要不同程度的参与；缺乏参与并不意味着他们不在乎
• 家庭可能无法询问他们需要的东西;我们可能需要问他们

总之

As the manager of the program, you set the tone and the expectations when it comes to respecting families. If you want your staff to demonstrate respect for families, you must do the same in all of your interactions. Staff members take their cues from you. You support your staff in their respect of families when you:

• 模型respectful relationships.
• 承认和价值多样性。
• Encourage staff to reflect on their personal values, experiences, ethics and biases and how these affect their work with families.
• Solicit the preferences of families in the care of and goals for their children.
• Encourage two-way communication between families and staff.
• 促进家庭与员工之间的积极互动。
• Utilize formal and informal communication methods.
• 为家庭和员工提供一个情感安全的地方，分享他们的感受。
• Create an environment that is welcoming and supportive of interaction.
• Ask families for their input and feedback.
• Provide ongoing professional development on topics that support relationships.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Management Family EngagementCourse Guide.

To support the professional development of the direct care staff members or family child care providers you oversee, you can access their corresponding Course Guides:

• 婴儿和幼儿家庭订婚Course Guide
• 亚慱彩票学前家庭参与Course Guide
• 学年家庭参与Course Guide
• Family Child Care Family EngagementCourse Guide