Strengthening
parenting skills within
families
Guidebook
Medellin, September 17, 2013
Content
1.
General framework
2.
Working with families and the differential approach
3.
Strengthening key aspects of parenting
4.
Methodological guidelines for working with families
5.
Working with families with early childhood policies
1. General framework
Background
• Early childhood as a priority
• 2010 –Backed by the Canadian International Development Agency, the
Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) developed several technical
assistance procedures in agreement with Colombia and Guatemala.
• 2011 – During the 86th board of director’s meeting, Early Childhood
became a priority for the 2012-2015 phase of the Action Plan. A Work
Group (WG) made up by the following countries was created:
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, USA, Guatemala, Haiti,
Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Surinam and Uruguay.
Background
• 2012 – The WG scheduled several virtual meetings and created the
basis for the document: Parenting guidelines to implement and manage
early childhood public policies in accordance with children’s rights laws.
• 2013 – First non-virtual meeting of the WG (Panama). The members
exchanged information based on the parenting document and agreed
that the comprehensiveness of the management model would be
enriched by defining a set of guidelines for working with families.
Background
• Even though the current version of this document was previously
approved by the WG and has already been distributed, any
observations that come from this meeting can still be included in it.
• The purpose of the parenting guidelines document is to make the
most out of positive impact of the initiatives that promote healthy
and safe family environments and contribute to the development of
children.
Why work with families?
• Thanks to the efforts made in the region in recent years, a lot of new Early
Childhood network services have been created, giving children access to new
safe environments that contribute to their development.
• Children are now able to act as active rights-holders by sharing new ways to
play, expressing themselves, and doing “everyday activities” with their families.
The work of the educator is to encourage these types of interactions.
• Unfortunately, these interactions don’t always occur frequently and/or have the
adequate staff capable of promoting these activities outside of the classroom
and in the home environment.
• This means there is a considerable gap between the stimulating environments a
child will encounter at their educational center and at home with their family. If
this gap aligns with cultural barriers, it can exacerbate a child’s social exclusion.
Idea strength
• It is necessary to amend comprehensive early childhood protection
policies by ensuring they target each child's immediate environment. By
doing so, it will be possible to get the most out of the work being done
during inter-institutional meetings.
• This leads to the proposal to implement an extensive outreach effort with
qualified personnel capable of promoting new parenting habits while
instilling a culture of respect between genders, generations and different
cultures and values.
Parenting capacity building
• From the beginning of their lives, children partake in a culture in which it
is important to understand the many factors that affect their
development.
• From a very early age children are directly affected by their family
environment, which in turn is being influenced by much larger
environments.
• Promoting the parenting skills of adults affects not only the bond
between parents and children, but it also helps foster new partnerships
with service providers while helping improve the quality of these
services.
Parenting capacity building
•
Children's interactions with their caregivers are essential in helping them
develop their own personalities.
•
Significant interactions between children and their caregivers are essential for
early childhood development.
•
The dimensions along which the interactions will be significant are: frequency,
intensity, timing, relevance and strength of the bond.
•
These interactions will be crucial for developing the skills and means needed to
explore the world (learn), define relationship styles and come up with ways for
dealing with conflict.
•
When we talk about caregivers we refer to those in close contact with the child
and those who assume a key role in helping them develop bonds while also
providing for their support or structure.
Parenting capacity building
• Families provide the context for, and are a “collective agent” in, these
types of care.
• Families determine their own roles and responsibilities when preparing
for early childhood care according to age and gender. In our culture
mothers are the primary caregivers, a role defined by tasks and not
kinship.
• By including parenting capacity building processes into public policies
and coordinating them with protection networks, it will be possible to
have a much larger impact on children´s environments.
2. Working with families and
the differential approach
THE DIFFERENTIAL APPROACH IS USED TO
STRENGTHEN THE ROLE OF PARENTS, MOTHERS AND
CAREGIVERS
• Parenting styles are permeated by cultural, social and geographical
factors.
• In order to strengthen parenting styles, the history and conditions of
the children and their families have to be taken into account.
Diversity
•Ethnicity: afro, indigenous, Rom
•Location: rural and urban
•Cultural: cultural characteristics of each community
•Capabilities: the many capabilities of children
•Family structure
•Gender: Gender roles
•Effects of violence or natural disasters
•Unique environments surrounding families
Why is the differential approach important
when working with families and caregivers?
• Values the potential, skills, abilities and customs of every person, family
and local group.
• Accepts the characteristics and specific needs of every group, especially of
those that have not been heard from before.
• Recognizes that diversity has been a main source of discrimination and has
created large social gaps and exclusion.
• Achieves social inclusion and equitable integration into society.
• Guarantees the rights of every person, family and group by creating
solutions based on their uniqueness.
• Encourages gender equality in every family taking into account the
evolution of the roles between men and women.
• Acknowledges the impact caused by violence while helping families
overcome the victim vs. victimizer dilemma.
Implications of implementing the differential
approach when working with families
Develops the mechanisms for inquiring about, researching and identifying
the needs, capabilities and strengths of the aforementioned groups.
Creates policies that will empower families seeking
inclusion and equity in their communities.
Improves
the
parenting
methods that will favor the
comprehensive development
of all children according to
their unique needs.
Maintains cultural
legacies and social
fabric
Redefines gender roles
in parenting
3. Strengthening key
aspects of parenting
Key parenting aspects to
strengthen
Horizon
Parenting practices must contribute in different ways to the
comprehensive development of children.
Children and families
as seen from a rights
perspective
Children, families
and their
communities
Children, families and
their communities
immersed in the
political and
institutional spheres.
Children and families as seen from a
rights perspective
Recognizes:
•The entitlement of children’s rights
•Their capabilities as able and active rights-holders
•Their ability to operate based on the interaction with the people around
them.
•Progressive autonomy
Involves:
•Adults who can facilitate comprehensive human development based on the
life stage, characteristics and capabilities.
•Parents, mothers and family caregivers play key roles: They are guarantors,
facilitators and mediators.
Children and families as seen from a
rights perspective (continuation)
Development
Existence
Comprehensive
Development
Protection
Citizenship
Children and families as seen from a
rights perspective (continuation)
Development rights
Right to life
•Advancement of health
•Healthy environments
•Nutrition
•Safety and health
•Right to receive medical
attention
•Family planning
•Quality
interactions:
promote
exploration and language, sensory and
movement exchange opportunities.
They promote play, storytelling, music
and art.
•Parenting sensitivity
•Safe affectionate bonds
•Emotion regulation
•Right to search and use cultural and
recreational services
Children and families as seen from a
rights perspective (continuation)
Right to protection
Citizenship rights
•Social, emotional and physical
security:
o Safe affectionate bonds attachment
o Effective conflict resolution and
safe environments
o Safe physical environments
that prevent accidents and
promote health
o Support during crisis situations
•Listen to them (thoughts, feelings,
opinions)
•Acknowledge their ability to make
decisions with others about the
issues that affect them
•Exercise citizenship differently
from adults
•Develop a sense of belonging
Children, families and their communities
• Families are part of a larger context
• Identifying and/or creating and strengthening family and
community support networks to:
o Cope with (natural and social) adversity.
o Accompany the development processes of others.
o Help children develop feelings of identity and
belonging.
o Create
safe
environments
that
promote
engagement.
Children, families and their communities in the
political and institutional spheres.
• Families do not implement any isolated mechanisms without societal
and institutional support.
• Each actor (state, family, community and civic society) can and must
develop mechanisms that will guarantee comprehensive childhood
development.
• Effective cooperation between families, communities and state
institutions supports the creation of targeted mechanisms.
4. Methodological guidelines for
working with families
Characteristics of the methodology for
working with families
• Acknowledges a family’s knowledge, capacities, beliefs, experiences
and values.
• Reflexive and constructive dialogues that take into account the
characteristics of individual and multiple families.
• Because of their complex relationships and the internal and external
factors that influence them, a family’s change process can take time.
• The projected outcome of this exercise is not to inform or impart
knowledge, but to promote the process analysis of practices and to
facilitate attitude changes.
The attitude and skills of trainers and
family educators
It is necessary for trainers working within a human rights and differential
approach framework to:
•Have an appreciative attitude towards the diverse customs and personal
situations that families face - understanding that their vulnerabilities are
obstacles they need to come to terms with or overcome, with help or by
their own means.
•Be open to a family’s diverse knowledge, culture, beliefs, experiences
and values.
•Be confident that each family will progress at its own pace.
Attitude and skills of trainers and family
educators
Family work can be very diverse. In some instances some of the families
will even work in groups. Examples:
•Workshops
•Single-family support or intervention sessions.
•Combining workshops with media and communication-based
methodologies that implement radio, television and internet as tools.
•Use of tools like forums, campaigns, daily journals to complement more
formal interactions.
•Leisure and recreational activities to promote literature, art, celebration
and playing time as reasons for families to create new ways to relate to
their children.
•Work directed specifically to adults, or, in some cases, to both children
and their parents.
Trainer profile and required skills
What kind of trainers can we find?
•Trainers have very different levels of education.
•All trainers have their own understandings and beliefs about parenting.
How should we evaluate them?
•
•
Ability to create empathy and kind relationships.
Ability to reflect on their own family’s interactions.
•
Family and early childhood development.
•
Family support and training methodologies.
•
Communication and methodology implementation skills.
Trainer follow-up.
5. Training families in early
childhood policies
Comprehensive approach to early childhood
public policies for working with families
• Plan to include other early childhood care initiatives as part of family
training and support.
• Design comprehensive policies, guidelines and programs.
• Develop a clear inter-institutional structure.
• Develop medium and long-term strategic activities.
• Devise proper strategies to reduce the gaps between educational
services and family environments.
• Develop a monitoring and tracking system.
• Have clear guidelines and hire properly qualified personnel.
Comprehensive approach to early childhood
public policies for working with families
Alternatives to providing family guidance, training and support:
•Integrate guidelines into early childhood or family policies
•Establish guidelines as part of an early childhood and/or family plan,
program or care system
•Create a program, plan or strategy
It is necessary to define institutional roles for leadership:
•A national entity
•A sector responsible for organizing and connecting other sectors
•An inter-institutional entity or commission
We encourage states to reflect about the proposal and
keep in mind the importance of incorporating this
issue in public policy for early childhood, with the
objective of moving forward in ensuring
comprehensive development of children in the region.
Thank You
09/14/13