6.3: Valuing the Primary Role of Families in Promoting Children’s Development

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Families

The family is central in children’s lives, as it is through their experiences with their families that children learn about themselves and the world around them (adapted from CDE 2006, 56). Family member is used to define the people who are primarily responsible for a child, including extended family members and resource families (text adapted from CDE 2006, 56). Programs support the healthy growth and development of the child within the context of the family by creating continuity between the home and the early care and education setting. Programs are responsible for learning about the children’s home life through communication with family members and, when possible, home visits. As part of this process, programs will learn to work with diverse family structures, including those headed by grandparents, resource families, same-sex parents, and teen parents. An essential aspect of high-quality programs is finding ways to support the growing relationship between the child and the family, and adapting to the strengths and needs of each child–family relationship (CDE 2006, 57). By getting to know families and understanding the importance of children’s relationships with caregivers at home, programs and teachers can support the primary role of the family in children’s learning and development.

Knowledge of Families

Programs

Develop or adapt program policies, based on knowledge of the families and on their input and feedback, to support family engagement in the program.

Teachers

Gather information from family members and engage in direct, effective communication to learn about family composition, values, and traditions to support the primary role of families in their children’s care and education and to engage families in the early education setting.
Learn about each family’s values, beliefs, and practices by observing and engaging family members in conversation or by communicating with other staff members as appropriate.
Find out about each family’s language preferences and language goals for the child.
Refer to and use pertinent family information when responding to needs of children and families.

Parent–Child History and Relationships

Programs

Develop program policies that support children’s relationships with their adult caregivers at home.
Provide professional development for staff on facilitating parent–child relationships and identifying areas of concern.
Provide resources or consultation as appropriate to address concerns related to children’s relationships with adult caregivers at home.

Teachers

Understand that all children develop in the context of relationships and that the quality of children’s interactions with adult caregivers at home has an impact on child outcomes.
Follow program policies or practices designed to support relationships between children and adult family members.
Use a variety of techniques to facilitate and reinforce positive interaction between children and adult family members and support each adult family member’s capacity to be responsive and sensitive to the child.
Understand that culture influences approaches to nurturing young children.
Identify concerns related to children’s relationships with adult family members and follow up as appropriate.