6.6: The Family

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During middle childhood, children tend to spend less time with parents/caregivers and more time with peers. And parents/caregivers may have to modify their approach to parenting to accommodate the child’s growing independence. Using reason and engaging in joint decision-making whenever possible may be the most effective approach (Berk, 2007).

Family Tasks

One of the ways to assess the quality of family life is to consider the tasks of families.

Berger (2005) lists five family functions:

Providing food, clothing and shelter
Encouraging learning
Developing self-esteem and self efficacy
Nurturing friendships with peers
Providing harmony and stability

Notice that in addition to providing food, shelter, and clothing, families are responsible for helping the child learn, relate to others, and have a confident sense of self. The family provides a harmonious and stable environment for living. A good home environment is one in which the child’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs are adequately met. Sometimes families emphasize physical needs, but ignore cognitive or emotional needs. Other times, families pay close attention to physical needs and academic requirements, but may fail to nurture the child’s friendships with peers or guide the child toward developing healthy relationships. Parents might want to consider how it feels to live in the household. Is it stressful and conflict-ridden? Is it a place where family members enjoy being?

Additional Resources

Included below are some resources if you or anyone you know could use some extra support in raising kids! These are low cost or no cost resources!

https://www.nationalparenthelpline.org/what-we-do

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/cryforhelp/featured/resources-hotlines-and-web-sites-for-parents/8/