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Weekly Module 4: Who Are Families? Readings Post

By in Readings, Who are Families? on .

In this module you will:

  • Identify struggles that families encounter
  • Determine ways to welcome families, based on their characteristics
  • Compare characteristics of families 

After reading 1 article of the Who are Families? Readings (see options below), answers the following questions:

  1. Which article did you chose? Why?
  2. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text.
  3. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why?
  4. What are the strengths of the families you read about?
  5. What challenges do the families you read about face?
  6. What are the program staff you read about doing to develop relationships with the families?  What else could staff do?
  7. How will this reading help you become a better infant/ toddler professional?

Respond to 2 other posts!

Who are Families? Readings (pick 1):

 

59 Comments

  1. 1. The article I choose was Jor’dan & Lee. I choose this article because it speaks about a program that is not usually spoken about,
    2. The article is speaks about the Children Place Association (CP) and how they help families affected by HIV/AIDS, homelessness and other finical and medical problems. These families live in the Caribbean or Africa, They helps these families with schooling for their children , along with housing , medical needs and psychological needs. Because of the countries in which these families having the challenges makes them a outcast. They create a welcoming environment to address the stigma and isolation, offer assistance in areas that will help their families be more independent and help their children develop and succeed, encourage parents to become leaders, encourage parent participation in support groups and offer assistance to help children and families attend.
    3, The quote that was most meaningful to me was ” The cp wants to see you do better” “Its hard doing it out here on my own. It’s nice to have some people who wants to help” (pg 51) This quote was meaningful because it shows that the work the CP does is making a great impact
    4. The strengths of the families are taking advantages of the programs being brought to them and just taking it with life day by day
    5. The challenges these families face are stigma because they are homeless, living with HIV/AIDS and other medical problems
    6.The program staffs create a welcoming environment to address the stigma and isolation that may prevent families engagement in the program and in their children’s education
    7 This reading will help me be more mindful of not just the child situation in school but the home life and the families in the whole

    • Hi Shemella! we chose the same article and I really like your approach. I strongly agree with you that when we read articles like this they help us be more mindful about the lifes of the people that soround us.

      great job!

    • Shemella — Thanks for sharing your insights! You point out the the importance of creating a space where families feel the “belong” and welcomed — to reduce isolation and stigma — which is important for everyone!

    • i love what you said for number 7 all of them situations need attention and showing that you care about a child situation outside of school can make them feel better . and trying your best to help and support

  2. Watching this video made me feel very grateful. It’s so unfortunate that families have to go through this. What struck me the most, was the overcrowded conditions that led families to have to sleep on the floor and the fact that children were only able to play for an hour.

    If Shari opens her daycare, she can incorporate the family-based model. Building a relationship with the parents and supporting them to feel comfortable to leave their children at the daycare. I assume because the children are with their moms all day, they’ve formed strong emotional attachments, which may get in the way when children are being dropped off at daycare. The children will have to adapt to a new routine that they may not be used to, but with the help of the family-based model, Shari can help both children and mothers adapt to new routine by building a trusted relationship with the children and parents. Like Robin stated in the video, she wants to be able to leave her children in a place she knows they’re safe, so she can feel comfortable leaving to better herself and change the situation her and her children are in.

    I see a lot of similarities with the families in the video that I watched and the families in the articles that I read. Some similar things that I notice were that some of the children in these articles lack some kind of support or care. Whether its’s food, guidance, love, mental health or education, these families have hardships that they are facing. These hardships are leading to other challenges matters and in the 2014 Jordan and Lee article he speaks on this matter. On page one he states, “Factors like these put the families at higher risk for poor nutrition, poor mental health, children’s delayed social development, and susceptibility to other diseases, amount other challenges”. These factors are affecting the overall development of a child’s ability to become successful in life.

    Furthermore, while I see more similarities than differences, I read some other hardships the families in the readings had to face. For Instance, in the Robin K Fox article these families were facing adoption issues, while these families seem similar to the ones in the video because they don’t have a steady home, they also had to deal with language issues, trying to live in the U.S. without speaking English made it harder to communicate with others. To add on to the differences, in the Paula De Silva article, these families had to face issues because they came from a nontraditional house household such as, a gay or lesbian household. This article also explains how teachers and administrators of early childhood programs had minimal access to training about how to deal or support the children who came from such households. Where as Shari seem to have the training and experience of working with such a diverse group of children because of her background at the shelter.

  4. I picked the Ray-et-al article to further discuss because I have a personal connection with these families.

    I believe this article concludes the importance of support, as teachers/educators finding ways to support children who may not be from the same background or culture is important. Understanding no one child is alike and being able to individualize each child will help children adapt to new situations and help them build relationships with others.

    Some struggles that families in this reading encounter were, learning that their child had a disability. During the pregnancy stage, families have test done that determines if their child would be born with a disability or not. Families who encounter disabilities usually fall into depression or even deny the disability. Others may not find out until later in a child’s life, which may still have the same results for families such as depression. Like mention in the text “Acceptance of a diagnoses can take families years” (16).
    This kind of new can be hard for families and even teachers. Which is why both families and teachers have to find ways to support one another. This is where building a good relationship with families are important, understanding what these families are going through and their needs for their child is important. On page 17 the reading explains how it’s imperative that teachers learn about the special education process so they can support families.

    In this reading, schools have developed IEP’s and IFSP which are special individualized programs, these programs have special curriculum and actions plans to help support children with disabilities such as, speech, occupational, physical therapy and more. These programs are not only for the child, but they also help support the parents as well.

    Through this reading I now have a better understanding of what not only parents face when raising a child with a disability but also what challenges teachers face. I now understand the importance of having the proper training in special education to help support families with disabilities. This new insight will definitely help me become a better educator.

  5. 1. The article I chose was Paula & da-Silva (2014) because it’s something that caught my attention and something I would like to learn more about.

    2. The Main idea of this article is how important it is for kids with same sex parents and the parents to feel welcomed and safe. Kids and family members will not be open to you or anyone if they feel uncomfortable about this topic. It’s important to have a conversation with parents and make them feel safe. Support the family no matter what. This article explains how you should interact with families by creating a dialogue and how you should be aware of what your thinking and why you are thinking that. Also how you would make things better for each other. Be sure to listen to what others have to say and keep in mind that they do not feel safe and unwanted in the environment.

    3. A quote that was meaningful to me was “She worked to create an environment that was physically and emotionally safe for the children.”(page 4) I like this quote because it shows how people care about making it a safe environment for the children that feel left out because there parents aren’t the same as everyone else’s. The amount of gay and lesbian households are increasing and it’s very important to have a relationship with children and their families to create a strong good environment for everyone.

    4. A strength that I saw from this family was that they were open to talking about their feelings when they had to solve the problem. Some people don’t really care and won’t talk about anything. Instead they just don’t pay mind to it and thats not really good if you want the parents to trust you. It’s good to have a strong bond with the family and children because then you have a connection and a better understanding of whats going on. The family and staff were able to communicate to come to a conclusion.

    5. A challenge that they faced was being uncomfortable due to the fact that the father was gay and an assignment that they had to do was to talk about mother and father. The child would tell the teacher that his family is uncomfortable.

    6.The programs staff is making sure to resolve this conflict and finding a way to make sure everyone feels safe and wanted. They would start by opening a dialogue with the families and make sure to be respectful by not judging and supporting the family. Then the staff would try to find a solution together. They would ask themselves questions about how they feel, why they feel like that, and how this affects others. They explain what they can do to make things better and how they can change.

    7.This reading will help me become a better infant/toddler professional because now if I ever have a family or child that feels uncomfortable with there family being different than others, I would do my best to support them and to create a safe environment for them. I would create a relationship with them and try to make them feel as welcome as I can.

      • Hi Solanny, I also agree with Tiana, these challenges aren’t spoke to often, so it’s nice that you shed some light on this reading and your opinions. I spoke to some of the things in this article as well because I found it interesting. Nice work.

    • Hi Solany! this is unfortunately one of the biggest problematics that the society that we live in faces today. Some people have a very hard time conceiving the idea of couples of both sex being able to take care and provide for kids, thinking they would grow up with different values than children with heterosexual parents. Hopefully, with time people will start accepting each other more and this problematic will stop being so remarkable.

    • Solanny — Thanks for your thoughts! You picked a meaningful quote — how was the space emotionally & physically safe for LGBTQIA+ families also? What else could teachers do to support diverse families?

  6. 1. I chose the article Ray et al because I have a personal connection to this article and what the families and teachers have to do and go through.

    2.The article speaks on children with disabilities and how it is important for the families and teachers to do their best working together for the child. Its important for the teacher and family to work together to better the child, it is the teachers job to get as much info as they can from the family about the child, such as what they eat, what do they like to do. It’s good for the teachers to get to know the child and figure out how they can work with them and have a set schedule for when they visit and what activities they will be learning. It is the parents job to provide the info about their child and work with the teacher to figure out what they can do to help support their child, making sure that their needs are met specifically for them.

    3.”Acceptance of the diagnosis can take years, as frequent reminders of the disability cause families to reexperience the grief” (Page 1). This quote really spoke to me because as a mother to a child with disabilities, having to find out about my child’s disability made me feel like it was my fault, I kept asking my self “did I do something I wasn’t suppose to?”, “was I too depressed?”. All these questions kept running through my head and thinking how different people will treat him compared to other kids and how I wouldn’t be able to take him to certain places that would cause him to freak out, but through time I realized that my son is special and intelligent in his own way. Though their will always be times where certain activities or people who don’t understand a child with disabilities will get me in my emotions.

    4. Strengths in the families I have read about is that they were willing to work together with the child’s caregiver to see what they can do to figure out their child’s needs. Communicate on what to do to help the child with certain situation, a new diet, and help them with their speech.

    5.The challenges would be that some families get offended on someone new telling them what they should do to help their child. Some parents could have already have had a bad situation with a teacher so some new teachers already coming in could have a difficult time getting the parents trust.

    6. They are asking questions of not only the child but of the family as well making them feel as comfortable as possible and working hard to make sure their child is well taken care of and learning as much as possible. Also making sure that the parents can let them know what they can also do to have the child feel safe and comfortable around them.

    7. I understand the importance of having special training when it comes to infants and toddlers with disabilities and the possible challenges I would face with some parents. I know that its best to get to know not only the child but the family as well to learn their culture and background and see what I can do to better work with them.

  7. 1. Which article did you chose? Why? – I chose the article by Paula-da-silva on supporting gay and lesbian families in early childhood classrooms. It is because this article is not an example of a topic that is discussed comfortably and also not spoken much about. This is the reason why this article caught my attention as I am interested in learning more about this.

    2. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text. – This article is about providing strategies to support children and parents in gay and lesbian households. For a child’s success, socialization within the family is very important. But, considering that parents sometimes feel stigmatized and uncomfortable participating in practices related to their child because of their family identity. Even though it is said that we live in a modern world around beings with open minds, but somewhere the comments made by other individuals to children is what shapes their development and lowers their self esteem. The three main strategies that are discussed in this article that help same-sex families feel welcome and safe are – communication, bias awareness, and construction of inclusive environments.

    3. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why? – “To establish reciprocity, she showed appreciation, interest, and curiosity about Mario’s perspective on the family book” (page 42). This quote is most meaningly to me as this is what we learned in class the other day, about reciprocity. Showing interest and curiosity about something is what reciprocity is. This showed how interested and eager to help Kelly was as an early childhood teacher. She applied all means to help their family and the child’s development, which was shown in the article. Her setting an appointment with Mario to meet one-on-one and asking vivid question showed her responsibility to help the parents and the child. This is a good example of showing reciprocity.

    4. What are the strengths of the families you read about? – The strength of the family I read about was that Mario, the father was comfortable in talking about their family identity when Kelly showed that she respected and made him feel comfortable talking about it. One thing that I noticed was that the early childhood teacher, Kelly showed all the Three R’s in order for Mario to feel comfortable talking about their family identity which at first they they did not talk about. This correlates to what we learnt about, how the Three R’s are important for both the adult and the child to make the other person feel comfortable and safe.

    5. What challenges do the families you read about face? – The challenges that I thought the family I read about faced was at first when the family felt uncomfortable in discussing about their identity, the child was not able to complete the assignment which was given to him. As Jorge has two fathers, but in the assignment, he was supposed to write about both his mother and father which he couldn’t and felt bad and embarrassed about. Another challenge was sense of identity and embarrassment that Jorge and his family felt at first, before having a separate conversation with Kelly.

    6. What are the program staff you read about doing to develop relationships with the families? What else could staff do? – The program staff, Kelly is setting a one-on-one appointment with Jorge’s parent to discuss about both if their viewpoint and how the problem that has been evolved can be solved. Finding solutions together and opening a dialogue with family are some other strategies shown that developed the relationship between Kelly and Mario. Other things that program staff could do – create an inclusive environment where children who have same-sex parents feel safe and comfortable and also making children aware of families like this where both of the child’s parents are of the same sex.

    7. How will this reading help you become a better infant/ toddler professional? – This will help me become a better infant/toddler professional as now I have a sense of making children feel safe and comfortable even if they do have same sex parents. As a teacher, I will discuss it in my classroom as well that it is okay if both of the child’s parents are of the same sex. I will also find solutions to discuss it with parents as well by using the same technique Kelly used as a teacher.

    • In your answer to question 5 you mentioned how Jorge had difficulty completing the assignment because of how the question was worded, it made me think how it is important to make questions that do not specify parents gender; saying “write about your parent(s)”, instead of writing “write about your mom and dad”.

    • Vavi — You connected respect. responsiveness & reciprocity (the 3 R’s) to your reading! You talked about the importance of trust & relationship building! The ways we use to establish trusting relationships with babies are the same processes we use with families! We have to individualize our interactions to families if they are LGBTQIA+, have disabilities, etc.

  8. 1. Article Jor’dan & Lee (2014), the reason why I chose this article is because it is something that I havent had the chance to do research about and I find it an interesting topic.
    2.The article’s main idea is how families struggling with things like school, housing , medical assistance and other basic needs are being helped by the Children Place Association (CP) where the families that are affected by HIV/AIDS, receive finical and medical help. This takes place in the Caribbean or Africa, and this organization specifically helps the families locates in this area because they are the ones that most struggle with problems of this matter. The organization helps the family by creating a welcoming environment in order to find the causes of the problematic that they face. Their goal is to create conscience and help families teach their children to be independent, helping their children thrive while pushing the parents to take the lead, and take part in their processes.
    3. “The CP is a safe haven, a home away from home for families” (P. 51) I like this quote a lot because it reflects the intentions of the organization towards the community, they want them tolive a healthy live and to success.
    4. The strenghts I thing the families have is that they have the will to be part of the organization, to embrace their help and move forward.
    5. The challenges that the families face are for example, the fact they have to learn how to take advantage of the help that the organization is offering them. Also, the stigmatization for having HIV/AIDS and being homeless.
    6.” the CP Association’s program staff use a variety of strategies to build families’ protective factors, such as their social support systems. Staff also assist families to overcome the physical, emotional, social, and financial effects of HIV/AIDS and other life-changing health conditions. ” (P.52) meaning they actually want to get involve with the families in order to educate them about how to treat the topic and how to face it the best way.
    7. Readings like this one in particular, I believe will help me understand the world a little better, in a way that now I’m going to be more open minded to the different situation that the children and their families might be going through. Reading like this help educate myself in topics that are not so common to know about.

  9. 1. I chose the article:Jor’dan & Lee (2014) because the article was really interesting, how to support families that are impacted by HIV/AIDS usually it is in communities where they are the most vulnerable.
    2. In a few words, the article was about the program: The Children’s Place (CP) Association, was made for these families that are affected by HIV/AIDS or by other health conditions that are life-changing. This program was made to engage the children and their families by creating environments where they do not feel discriminated by the stigmas, develop workshops where the parent can feel involved in their child’s education and how to help their children in all aspects: health, education, mental state, etc. This also includes helping the families with events where they all can bond together even more and helping the family in a way that they are struggling with and help them eventually become independent.
    3. In page 51 states, “When families are stable and basic needs are met, children are more likely to attend school and have improved developmental outcomes”- this was meaningful because this program ultimate goal is this, to help the families have their basic needs met first, and then help the children strive and do well in school
    Page 52 states, “CP’s goal is to help the families they serve feel like family. Many families say it is the first time they have felt comfortable in their children’s early education environment”-help me see that this program is doing everything in their hands to help these families feel like they can be at ease without being discriminated because of what they are going through.
    4. The strengths of the families I read about are that it helps the families feel part of an organization that cares for them in which, they can learn how to help their children’s education, the parents are encouraged to be the leaders and speak out to their community and break the stigmas around what people think.
    5. The challenges they face are that on a daily basis they live in vulnerable communities, where they face “stigma and isolation”, and their children may face “loss of family and identity, psychosocial stress, lack of essential care, homelessness, inadequate nutrition, and fewer opportunities to attend early childhood programs” (SAMHSA 2000).
    6. The program staff is trained to handle emotional, behavioral, and social issues that surface in the program, and the teachers and administration meet monthly to see how they can have new approaches to support the children and families based on the observations they do on the new families and to enhance the family support and then support the families to achieve those goals placed. They also have meetings with families to meet “with the director, family support specialist, nurse, teacher, and education coordinator monthly to discuss progress toward meeting goals”.
    7. This reading helps me become a better infant/toddler professional, it gives me a reminder that no matter what type of child comes into the program, I will be willing to help the child in any aspect of their life that needs help and find the adequate people that can help me in the journey as well.

  10. The article I choose was Jor’dan & Lee. I choose this article because it speaks about a program in relation to issues that aren’t often brought up

    2. The article talks about the (CP) Child Place Association and about the help they provide to families affected by HIV/AIDS, homelessness and other medical/financial needs, housing , medical as well as psychological needs. Due to the countries in which these families experience these challenges makes them a outcast. They provide a welcoming environment to offer assistance in areas that they are struggling in and will help their families to not only become independent and help their children develop and succeed, but also encourage parents to become leaders, encourage parent participation in support groups and offer assistance to children and families in need.

    3. The quote that was most meaningful to me was “The main goal at the CP is to help children and families be successful.”(pg 52) This quote is meaningful because it tells you in all honesty what the program’s #1 goal is to result in a certain benefit.

    4. The strengths of the families are taking advantages of the programs being brought to them and just accepting it within their life each day

    5. The challenges faced are stigma because they are living with HIV/AIDS and are struggling with other medical problems, and are homeless

    6.The program’s staff create a welcoming environment to address the stigma and isolation that may prevent families engagement in the program/in their children’s education

    7 The reading will compel me to be more aware of the home lives of families as a whole as well as the child situation in school

    • Hey Cachoeira, It had not even crossed my mine that we could potentially work with families who have HIV/AIDS. Its very enlightened to see how much diverse families we will be in contact with.

  11. 1. I chose Paula & DaSilva to get a better understanding of families who have a different lifestyle than myself. I believe its important for all teachers to be educated on diverse and different compositions of families.

    2. The article shows the importance of different families and how many families share the same values with their children. Its essential to include all families regardless of sex orientation. Teachers should create safe spaces for gay and lesbian families. By keeping an open dialogue and staying away from gender stereotypes, teachers can avoid difficulties down the road. When and if difficulties arises, both families and teachers can come up with solutions together.

    3. ” Using terms such as partner instead of husband or wife when communicating with parents” page 44 I believe this is very meaningful and can have a major impact on parents communicating with teachers. Something that may seem so little can show respect for families and make families feel welcomed.

    4. Diversity
    Different communities
    Strong self identities
    Pride in their family

    5. Negative views of same sex partners
    Bias gender stereotypes
    Non-inclusive environment
    Privacy at risk

    6. Keep open dialogue with families and creating inclusive environments.

    7. This reading will help me communicate with diverse families in a respectful manner. It will also help me create safe and inclusive environments for gay and lesbian families.

    • Deb, I agree with you. Also, if we think about it, some teachers do hold opinions about challenges like these which is not a healthy thing as we as teachers have to teach children about the right thing and not what we personally feel or think.

  12. 1. I chose the article Ray-et al 2009. I chose this article because it speaks about children with special needs and I find that so important.
    2. This article was about children with special needs and how to meet their needs. This article also talks about how good it is for child givers to have a good relationship with the family and also how important it is for the caregiver to work with the family so that they child needs are met. This article also speaks about IFSP and IEP which are child services that can meet the child needs
    3. The quote that meant the most to me was the quote that said “Accepting and respecting the extra work it takes for families to care for and educate children with special needs” (Page 4). This quote meant the most to me because it is very important to respect what the family expects you to give their child that will meet their needs.
    4. The strength that I have read about was how good the caregiver and families worked together so well so that the child needs are met.
    5. The challenges that the families faced was the pregnancy stage having to find out if their child will have a disability or not.. Which may lead to depression.
    6. The staff in the article I read has 2 programs IFSP and IEP which are services that are giving to children with disabilities so that they needs are met.
    7. This reading will help me become a better infant/toddler professional because reading this reading gave me knowledge on working with kids with a disability it also gave me knowledge on how to work with the child if I was ever in this situation

  13. 1- The article I chose was fox 2012. I chose this article because it really stuck out to me how many things a child struggles with during the adoption process.

    2- this article was about kids going through adoption and effects of that such as a child being traumatized from going from family to family . motor skills being messed up , language , health and medicare, and nutrition. I’ve learned how much adoption can really effect a child mentally because they aren’t used to seeing new faces often it gets difficult for them to adapt.

    3- Based on fox 2012,” childrens who pre adoption care as infants included an orphanage rather than foster care might have more difficulty with attachment “. This is important to me because now i’m learning why its so important to please every child’s needs as soon as they react you have to be there.why? Well in this situation children going from one caregiver to another traumatizes them . For example if one baby sees one person is always responding to their needs and then that person is no longer their caregiver it will confuse them . They don’t know if they can trust everyone so it’s our job to make sure we are always responding to their needs no matter who it is for reasons like this infants have to know they can trust adults to respond to their every need so they can trust and feel that attachment.

    4-Some strengths would be implications for teachers being able to recognize what needs hep and assisting it right away. They can also help families recognize heath issues right away to help them be better caregivers.

    5-Some challenges would be the language and gross motor development. This is important in a child’s life because without language you can’t communicate and help them grow and these kids have to adapt to a new language they don’t understand at all just causes a delay in their learning.

    6- One of the most important things staff are doing is using adoption friendly language so you are not attacking the child with information about their birth parents. This ensures that you respect the child . Also respecting the child’s birth parents so that they give helpful information to better raise their child.

    7-This reading will help me become a better teacher because i may experience a child who is adopted and i have to know how to care for that child in the best way for their learning experience .Even though they have been through so much i have to know how to cater to their needs with love and care . That the child feels that there is someone there all the time .

  14. 1. I chose the article Jor’dan & Lee (2014) because it’s not a topic that is often heard of or spoken about.

    2. This article talks about The Child Place Association (CPA). It explains how they help to provide housing, medical needs and psychological needs to families affected by HIV/AIDS, homelessness and other medical/financial needs.

    3. The quote that stuck out the most to me was “When families are stable and basic needs are met, children are more likely to attend school and have improved developmental outcomes” ( page 51). This is important because parents and families should have their needs met first. It is important that kids are able to thrive and excel in school.

    4. Some of the strengths it that it helps families feel apart of something that cares for them. Parents are able to obtain information on how they can help their children excel in school. The parents are also encouraged to be leaders so that they can gain the courage to speak out to their community. It never hurts to have knowledge about something.

    5. Some Challenges are the stigma that come with living with HIV/AIDS

    6. The program staff is trained to handle emotional, behavioral, and social issues that surface in the program.The program’s staff create a welcoming environment to address the stigma and isolation that may prevent families engagement in the program/in their children’s education.

    7. The reading helped me understand a bit more about families that live with HIV/AIDS

  15. 1). I chose the article “Jor’dan & Lee’ (2014) because this article caught my attention, and because to me as a future educator it is really important to support families in any way whether it is with health reasons or just a simple conversation to make them feel better.

    2).This article is about a program called “The children’s Place (CP) association that was created for families who are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and many other health conditions that might have been a very big dramatic change in a family’s life as well as homelessness and other medical or financial needs.This program helps families by creating a place where the don’t feel sort of different from others. And support one another in any issues or obstacles that we might come across in life. Also making an environment where people who have similar issues make situations much easier because of the fact that they have each other to talk to and someone who they feel understood by because they face similar problems.

    3). The quote that was most meaningful to me was “Teachers and staff work hard to build trust with families, offering support as needed, without judgment and assuring confidentiality” (Page 52). This quote really will stick with me through my Future years of teaching and working with young children. It is my first priority to create a trustful bond with children and families, a safe environment, and most importantly a person whom they can trust and will not have doubts on coming up and sharing a story or any concern they might have without any judgments. An educational environment should always be a safe place, a place where parents feel comfortable leaving their children alone and know that they will be well taken care of,a bonding place and a judgment free zone. Creating all of these mentioned will create a very healthy environment for teachers, adults, and children.

    4). The strengths of the families I read about are that families who are diagnosed with these diseases have an environment where they can go to that helps them feel important. It’s not easy being surrounded by today’s society where people judge each other instead of supporting and helping one another. This program is also great on getting these people the idea of people saying or thinking this about me or differently but instead of focusing on overcoming their problems by people who understand them on different types of levels.

    5). The challenges these families face are these stigmas such as HIV/AIDS i which they have to live with for the rest of their lives. Also homelessness and other health issues. It is not easy coping with the idea of having to deal with something for the rest of your life. This is why it is very important for everyone to have an open mind about people’s attitudes at times because we never know what they might be going through in life.

    6). The program staff is trained to make an environment in which they help families be engaged in their children’s education no matter what they are facing. Also helping families deal with any emotional concern and making a place in which people are able to forget their problems and feel more relaxed and not as if the world is on top of their heads.

    7). This reading helps me become a better infant/toddler professional because I learned a lot on how we as educators can be supportive and understanding. This reading also taught me a lot about the stigmas that people are diagnosed with going through on a daily basis. It is really my first priority and will be for the rest of the time that I work with children in making them feel welcomed no matter their health problems and also treating every student the same.

  17. The article I choose was “Jor’dan & Lee.” I choose this article because I wanted to learn more about the topic and I was also thinking about my future career. The main idea of the article Is based on the children place association which is also known as “CP”. in the article they speak about the importance of helping families that suffer with HIV and or AIDS, medical issues and many other personal problems including homelessness. based on the location of these families that are being helped it makes it harder for the situation to be solved. Some families are located in Africa, or the Caribbean. Being in countries like that makes these families be considered as an outsider. A quote that would be considered meaningful to me would be, “she worked to create an environment that was physically and emotionally safe for the children.”(page 4) I picked this quote because it shows the importance of children’s safety. It shows that everyone is different but yet we are still the same when it comes to being protected. The strengths of these families is being able to have a cope method program that you can go to and just express yourself with. The challenges these families are the stigma because they have to go day by day in their lives knowing that they are homeless, have medical problems and many other things. The program staff is taught how to make the environment as comfortable as possible and to acknowledge that being included in there child’s educational life is really important. This reading helps me become a better infant/toddler professional because it helped me understand more situations coming from the real outside world perspective. It helps me understanding that everyone isn’t perfect and if a child is acting a certain way or doing things differently than others normally would than maybe they could possible be going through something.

  18. 1. The reason I chose Jor’dan & Lee was because it was an interesting topic and a topic I knew little of.
    2. The main idea of this passage is to inform us on the organization that helps families with HIV/AIDS. The organization Children Place Association (CP) helps the families with medical and financial needs. Not only does this organization help the families with medical and financial assistance but they also help with housing, and the children’s education. This organization creates a new environment for the families so that they the parents take charge of their lives and help their children grow, develop and become successful in the future. The Children Place Association (CP) wants the family to grow as well as the children.
    3. The quote that was most meaningful to me was “The CP is a safe haven, a home away from home for families.” (pg51) the reason this was meaningful was because families need a place where they can speak about anything that is bothering at home. A place that everything they say won’t be judged or look down upon but rather they would help alleviate the situation. A place to open wide about some emotions you feel ashamed or afraid of sharing at their home. They can bring it to that safe haven there.
    4. I think the strengths that the family shows is being able to put aside shame and accept the help being brought to them. Also another strength they will have is being now a part of this CP organization and moving up from where they were before.
    5. The challenges the families may have are accepting help from outsiders, people they may not know and or trust. Another challenge is accepting that they are living with HIV/AIDS but that they can move forward and continue to do good and right by their children.
    6. What the program CP does for the families in this program is create a different atmosphere than the one that they were in before. The family’s mood changes due to all the help that the program gives them.
    7. This reading will help me become a better infant/toddler professional because I won’t just think about the child and myself but also the child’s family, their living conditions, any problem they may have that I can help in. I won’t just think about the one child that comes through the door but I will think about the entire family behind that one child.

  19. 1. I chose Luckenbill and Zide 2017 because it was the one that instantly caught my attention.
    2. The reading “Supporting Medically Fragile Children and Their Families” revolves around Leshawn who was diagnosed at birth with a diaphragmatic hernia. And his journey in transitioning into an early childhood classroom, which was extremely difficult for him due to his past and being so attached to his mother because of what he had to go through. Along with the teachers that did everything they could to make Leshawn feel safe in the classroom and teaching him the difference between them and the hospital, which took a lot of work.
    3. (Pg 81) “”When the ill child engages in art making, he or she is in charge of the work-the materials to be used; the scope, intent, and imagery…””. Growing up I would always see and hear in movies/tv that when a child went through a traumatic experience they would make them draw, paint, use some sort of art to see how the child was feeling or find out what happened etc, but I never actually knew why did doing art caused a child to pour their feeling on top it.
    4. The strength of the family was the patience that they had with Leshawn and his transition to a classroom along with the strength to get through the times when Leshawn was in the hospital.
    5. The challenges that the family faces is the hard work it’s going to take to have Leshawn be fine to be in a classroom without being afraid. Along with Leshawn’s mother being okay with having her son in a classroom.
    6. The program staff did many things to make sure Leshawn felt safe in the classroom along with his mother. Such as they email the mother everyday, in the beginning of Leshawn being in class they contacted everyone like the doctors and the team specialist just that they knew more about what Leshawn had to go through. The teachers would wear socks and the room would smell like lavender instead of Clorox so it wouldn’t remind him of the hospital.
    7. This reading made me acknowledge how big of a role we do play for children when we become professionals and the importance of working with families to ensure that their kids feel safe in the classroom no matter their condition.

  21. The article Ray-et al 2009 because it speaks about children with special needs and important to learn about it and also prepare yourself incase you ever teach a child with special needs.This article also talks about how good it is for teachers to have a good relationship with the family and also how important it is for the teacher to work with the family so that the child needs are met.

    The strength that I read about was how the teachers and families worked together so the childs needs were met.The challenge the families faced was in the pregnancy and having to find out if the child was going to have a disability or not.

    This reading will help me become a better teacher because gave me an insight on working with kids with a disability also gave me knowledge on how to work with the child if I was ever to work with children with special needs.

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