Family-Centered Program Theories and Concepts

Family-Centered Program Theories and Concepts in Early Childhood

In order to teach young children correctly, they must learn at school and at home. If they receive highly conflicting information in these two places, it can lead to a high degree of confusion as to how they should act, what they should be focused on, and whose rules are the most important ones to follow. Older children are more discerning, but children of pre-school age have not yet figured out how to look past some of the issues that they see or hear in order to determine what they really should be addressing when it comes to their behavior and the proper way in which to act. It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to show these young children the important things in life and teach them about learning.

Much of the learning that these students will undertake will come from the classroom, but parents must be willing and able to enforce the learning and the rules that were first shown to the students by their teachers. Without parental reinforcement, it is much more difficult to keep students on track in school - and that is where family-centered program theories come into play. These theories and concepts support both the childhood classroom and the child's family. It is important to address how educators and parents encourage desired behaviors from pre-school-aged children in both the pre-school and the home setting. In other words, the behaviors must be taught not only to the children, but to the parents of the children - and that can make the entire issue more complex and difficult for teachers.

Attachment

Attachment is one of the most significant issues that is faced by pre-school children when they go to school for the first time (Levin & Schwartz, 2007a). They often have trouble being away from their parents, and they may not be well-socialized. How they react to their teachers and the other children in their classroom can be very telling. It can also be a problem for children who aren't comfortable with being away from their family. It is natural for young children to have some anxiety about separating from family members, but most children adapt to pre-school quite well because they used to babysitters, daycare, and socializing at the park and other play areas (Reeves, 2000). For children who have not had that experience, there is much work to be done. That work should be started right away, so that parents, teachers, and students can all feel more comfortable with the child's pre-school experience.

Encouraging a child to expand his or her horizons is complicated when the child is very young. However, teachers should reassure the children in their care. If teachers do not show compassion for children who are having trouble adapting, that sets the children up for teasing and harassment from the other students (Reeves, 2000). Even in pre-school, bullying can be a problem - especially for children who are deemed as "different" by their peers (Levin & Schwartz, 2007a). Teachers can sometimes contribute to this (albeit usually accidentally) by treating some children differently from others. This treatment is not to be confused with helping children who are struggling to adapt to being separated from their parents (Reeves, 2000).

Teachers in the pre-school classroom can encourage children to form friendships with others, thus lessening the separation anxiety they feel when they are left at the school by their parents each day (Levin & Schwartz, 2007b). By having something to look forward to, and having friends to talk to and play with, a pre-school child will not feel as left out and will not feel as deep of a sense of loss. That will not break the attachment to the parents, nor should it, but it can lessen the degree of attachment the child feels by helping him or her feel safe when the parents are not within sight or easily reachable.

Many children who have trouble being apart from their parents struggle because they use their parents as their safety net (Reeves, 2000). They are unsure of their environment if it does not contain their parents, and both teachers and parents must encourage the separation. At home, parents can talk with their children in a manner that encourages them to play with others and form friendships. If parents are too "clingy" or restrictive with their children, the children often grow up to be far too attached to the parents, to the point that it becomes unhealthy (Reeves, 2000). Breaking that pattern in pre-school gives children a better start in life (Levin & Schwartz, 2007b). The closeness of family should be important, but so should independence and the understanding that the child is a person separate from his or her parents, siblings, or other family members.

Self-Help Skills

Many children who come to pre-school are unsure how to help themselves when something goes wrong (National, 2011). Because they are still very young, they have not yet learned the kinds of coping skills that adults can use in order to feel better and address problems in their own lives. While that is to be expected, children are never too young to learn self-help techniques such as positive self-talk and the benefit to remaining calm and thinking about a situation before acting on impulse (National, 2011). When that is being taught in school, it also needs to be taught at home. That way, young children will be more likely to accept the lessen - because they are hearing it everywhere they go.

Pre-school teachers should keep parents abreast of the situation as to what they are teaching and how the child is reacting to what is being taught. When children are taught something at school and they see it being reinforced and modeled at home, they are much more likely to take that information to heart and practice it (National, 2011). They often want to emulate their parents, and if their parents' lives strongly conflict with what is taught in school as "acceptable behavior," it can cause a large area of conflict for such a young child (National, 2011). Parents and teachers who work together to show children the right way to learn to help themselves will be doing the children a very large favor that the children can always use later in life. The parents may also benefit from what the child is being taught in school if they are open to the idea of self-help and techniques that may improve their lives.

Empowerment

Empowerment is a big issue for children, because it teaches them that they are independent human beings who are able to think for themselves and do things on their own (National, 2011). This is especially true for minority students and young girls, because they may find more opposition than little boys who are white will find. This is not the case everywhere, but there are still stereotypes and prejudice opinions in the world. A pre-school teacher who is deeply committed to helping the students will be sure to focus on the things the students do well. He or she will make sure the students realize their own worth and the worth of their classmates, so that there is a feeling of equality and ability that is fostered in the minds and hearts of all of the students who have that teacher (National, 2011).

Being able to stay empowered at home is important for these children. They may want to do things a certain way or have more of a say in something - such as what they wear to school or how they wear their hair. Within reasonable limits, parents should encourage this individuality and growth in their children (National, 2011). By doing so, the lesson of empowerment will be reinforced and the children will see that they are valuable to more than just their teacher or parents. They will learn how to valuable and strong just for being themselves. The world can try to take that opinion away from them, but the earlier they learn it (and the more it is reinforced) the better off they will be as they grow older.

Pro-Social Skills

Some children are naturally more shy than others. If a child does not have siblings or has been closely guarded and sheltered by his or her parents, that child may have trouble with normal social interaction. Even children who are not shy can have trouble socially, because those children may not have been taught manners or the value or specific kinds of behaviors at home (Levin & Schwartz, 2007a). In addition, children who are pre-school age often have poor impulse control, so doing something that is not polite or that might hurt the feelings of someone else is not really considered until after it is done and the child must face the consequences (U.S. Department, 2011). Impulse control will come with age for most children, but they can be taught to think before they speak or act - and they can also be taught what is appropriate and acceptable and what is not when it comes to being social with other students.

As with any other behaviors they are taught in school, pro-social behaviors must be reinforced at home (U.S. Department, 2011). Practicing with the child can go a long way toward developing an understanding of acceptable behavior. Many parents leave this up to the school, but children generally want to emulate what they see at home. As they move into pre-school and learn new ways to interact with people, those ways should be encouraged at home. This will help the family dynamics, and will also help the pre-school teachers who are looking for ways to ensure that order is kept in their classrooms.

When parents talk to their children about what they have learned that day, and when they correct their children when they make a social faux pas, they are helping their children learn valuable lessons that those children will use all throughout their school years and into adulthood (U.S. Department, 2011). It is possible for a child to get through school without being social, but to succeed in the world one generally has to be able to interact with others. The earlier children learn this skill, the more opportunity they will have to practice it before they need it for issues such as working in a corporate environment or making friends and eventually finding the right person with which they want to start a family (McCollum & Yates, 1994).

Self-Esteem

Children need to be taught from an early age that they have value (U.S. Department, 2011). They do not need other people's approval in order to have worth or do something important in their lives. There is a balance to be found between not needing the approval of others and not caring what other people think. It can be hard to find or maintain that balance to some degree, but most children are capable of doing it if they have instruction as to how to accomplish it correctly (McCollum & Yates, 1994). They need to see the behaviors modeled at home, as well, and they need to have reinforcement of their value at home. Even though children need to be taught that they have value no matter what anyone else says, that does not mean that they do not need or desire any kind of praise or external validation as they grow up.