unit 5 - positively guiding children and resources and policies chapter 18 - family concerns and...
TRANSCRIPT
Unit 5 - Positively Guiding Children and Resources and
Policies
Chapter 18 - Family Concerns AND Chapter 19 - Family Crises
Parents and Their Children
Balancing Family and Work
• Must balance
• Must work to supply income to meet family needs
• Working a necessity, not an option
• Managing responsibilities can be challenging
• Single parent family - one must take on all responsibilities– only source of income– only adult responsible for providing care– stressful for all
• Dual-career families– two people share responsibilities– able to divide responsibilities– must juggle two schedules
Reasons Parents Work
• Provide financially for family
• Gain personal satisfaction from job
• Important part of their identity
• Personal growth
• Develop new skills
• Meet new people
Benefits of working parents
• Research indicates:– children of dual-career families are more
independent and achievement oriented– children are more social
• Stay-at-home parents– may stifle children’s attempts at independence
Divorce
• Children view as break-up of family - end of the world
• frightening
• tell children as soon as decision has been made– time to adjust– truthfully explain
• Tell children together
• Reinforce that child is still loved and that parents can work together as parents
• No not lie to children
• Explain that have tried everything and this is the final decision
• Explain it is NOT the children’s fault
Watch for:
• Regressive behavior
• Feelings of guilt
• Infants and toddlers– May not remember much– Must adjust if “new” parent joins family
• Preschoolers– Often quite upset– Cannot understand how parent can love them
and not be with them– Will think they caused the divorce– React with helplessness, grief, and fear– Bed-wetting, thumb-sucking, and whining may
surface
• School-Age children– May be better able to cope with changes– May want to talk– May blame selves– May pit one parent against the other
• Teens– May show more pain than other aged children– May damage their self-esteem– May take sides and fight against one parent– May withdraw– May rebel - skipping school, stealing, drinking,
using drugs– May be embarrassed
Crisis
• An unforeseen situation that demands adjustment by all members of a family
• Occur at one time or another within all families
• Strong families help one another through
• Dysfunctional family- cannot function properly– needs of family members cannot be met– parents cannot function to care for and nurture
children– interactions between family members not
healthy
Crises
• Unemployment and Financial Crises– May not be able to pay bills– May not be able to buy essentials– Teens may help with financial needs of family
if they have a job– Community resources may be needed– Often temporary situation, require adjustment
and cooperation of all family members
• Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse– condition in which a person’s drinking cause
the person to hurt him/herself and others– damage the body– damages family members ability to function– usually begins during teen years
• Deny problem
• Family must face the problem
• May need professional help
• Entire family attend counseling
• Addictions have no cure!
Child Abuse and Neglect
• Child Abuse– a non-accidental injury or pattern of injuries to
a child; damage to a child for which there is no reasonable explanation - physical, sexual, and emotional
• Child Neglect– failing to provide basic needs of children
Physical Abuse
• intentional infliction of physical injury upon a child
• hitting, biting, beating, shaking, pushing, kicking
• adult uses physical force to punish or hurt the child
Emotional Abuse
• use of words to belittle, threaten or exert control over another person
• humiliation, name-calling, or other belittling remarks meant to hurt self-esteem of person
Sexual Abuse
• Forcing a child to engage in or witness sexual activities
• Incest - sexual activity with a family member– most often between fathers and daughters– occurs when very young
Physical Neglect
• failure to provide sufficient food, clothing, shelter, guidance, medical care, education, and supervision for a child
• can often be observed
• failure to protect child from abuse
Emotional Neglect
• failure to provide love and affection
• may receive good physical care, but still be neglected emotionally
• caring for, holding, touching stimulates brain growth
• difficult to prove, but it does occur
Gangs, Bullies, & Peer Violence
• Peer violence– violence directed at a person by someone of
same peer group
• Bullying– one or more people inflicting physical,
emotional or verbal abuse on another person
• Gangs– groups of bullies who seek to inflict power
through physical means– set up territorial restrictions and codes– wear identifiable clothing to designate
membership
• Bullies and Gangs may seem strong, but actually need help
• Not receiving enough care and love, discipline, and structure at home
• may be abused or neglected by their parents
• come from every ethnic and economic group
• lack problem-solving skills and solve conflicts with violence
Missing Children
• Runaways– over 450,000 run away from home every year– run because of family problems, leave abusive
homes, don’t get along with parents, seeking independence
– families live in constant fear– several local and national agencies to help
runaways
Suicide
• 9th leading cause of death in U.S.
• people ages 10 - 45 most likely to commit suicide
• way to end problems
• leave family and friends wondering why, shock, anger, sadness, fear, and uncertainty
• Rate among 15 - 24 year olds is especially high
• 3rd leading cause of death for this age group
• over 2,000 teens commit suicide annually
• for every successful suicide, 25 others have attempted
Risk factors
• emotional problems
• substance abuse
• feeling isolated or hopeless
• family violence
• family history
• depression
• change in well-being or loss of self-esteem
• loss of important relationship
• death of a loved one
Preventing Suicide
• Act quickly
• TALK to the person
• LISTEN to what is said or what they are trying to say
• Seek professional help– private and group counseling services available