Activity 1.4 | Considering your own understanding of children, families and educators

We also have an image of families. 

Remember when you were young and maybe went for a sleepover or to have dinner with another family? Were things the family did that surprised you? There are many types of families with different dreams for their children and different ways of operating in the world. We must stay open to learning about different ways of being a family unit. 

Gonzalez-Mena, in her 1997 article on Independence or Interdependence, suggests that the difference between families’ and educators' perspectives on whether children need help can be cultural and how each adult sees children’s need to be dependent or interdependent on others. It is important to be aware of how families view dependence and independence for themselves and their children. In some cultures helping children is viewed as important so that children realize that family is there to help and support them. In some cultures, it is not unusual for a family to continue to feed a young child long after the child can feed themselves as a demonstration of their love and care. Some cultures focus on making children aware of how much we depend on each other while other cultures may pay attention to how children can do things for themselves. Being independent while understanding we need each other is important but which aspect do we emphasize? 

In your program how do you view self-help skills? What is your program's belief in self-help skills and why did your program decide to promote these particular skills? How might you revisit and alter your program’s philosophy to be more inclusive? How might educators respond to a family that supports their child differently from their own? How might our assumptions inadvertently exclude some children and their families?

Reflect in your journal: 

• How can you welcome families without making assumptions?  

• What types of families might you have difficulty welcoming….how will you deal with this?