After watching the video TAPS Partnerships with Families: Part 3, answer the following questions:
- What is the main cause of differences and tensions with families?
- What can infant/ toddler professionals do about these tensions?
- Why do families make “unreasonable requests” of staff and programs?
- How can staff work with families when those requests are made?
- What can be done when tensions between families and staff become conflicts?
- How does this video relate to the Gillespie (2006) reading? Make specific connections, identifying the page number.
What is the main cause of differences and tensions with families? Differences in cultural values or lifestyles, additional needs, first time parents.
What can infant/ toddler professionals do about these tensions? Get adequate professional training and understand cultural competency. Work in a team with diverse background. Represent cultures they serve.
Why do families make “unreasonable requests” of staff and programs? To have some control over the time the child is with teacher.
How can staff work with families when those requests are made? Relinquish some of those rights to the family and build on trust.
What can be done when tensions between families and staff become conflicts? Do research together, find a common solution. Negotiate to support needs of both family and center. Talk directly with parents. Implement strategies. Get coordinative support.
How does this video relate to the Gillespie (2006) reading? Make specific connections, identifying the page number. Both talks about having empathy and having a deep understanding of the families culture and beliefs. page 2
Hey Deborah, I like how you made a connection of both the reading and the video. Both really do have a really good connection. I enjoyed reading your responses Good Job :).
Agree, having empathy and understanding of the families will help find the common ground between caregiver and family.
Deb — Thanks for your thoughtful post! When teacher give up control we create space for true partnerships to form!
1). What is the main cause of differences and tensions with families? Differences and tensions do occur from time to time however they are not very common. The main cause of differences and tensions with families mostly due to the difference in cultural value or lifestyle values.
2). What can infant/ toddler professionals do about these tensions? Infant/toddler professionals can educate professional development training and understand that we all come with our own values about life and culture and being able to allow others to meet us halfway and come to that mutual understanding and agreement of each other’s differences.
3). Why do families make “unreasonable requests” of staff and programs? Families make “unreasonable requests’’ of staff and programs because they prefer to be involved in their child’s life at all times at home of course but as well as when they are at these programs.
4). How can staff work with families when those requests are made? When “unreasonable requests” are made staff can support families by building a relationship with the family and by that we can slowly build trust as well.
5). What can be done when tensions between families and staff become conflicts? Try to discuss the conflict with the families. Finding a come ground and implementing new strategies and see if those work. If the conflict still continues we can ask for support from the coordination support.
6). How does this video relate to the Gillespie (2006) reading? Make specific connections, identifying the page number. Both the reading and the video have similar points of views that they want us as viewers and readers to understand. Both the reading Gillespie (2006) and the video talk about conflicts and how to face conflicts when and if they occur and how to support families and come to mutual understanding. And most importantly understanding everyone’s cultural backgrounds and values. Gillespie (2006), Page 2 where the reading talks about active listening is the best way to face conflicts and come to a mutual understanding and understand where families are coming from.
Hey Edisa I like the connections you made between the readings as well. Great job on your responses.
I agree with the your response to 6, listening, and coming to a mutual understanding between families and caregivers.
Edisa — Thanks for your insightful post! We have to recognize that we have a family’s most important possession — their baby! Developing trust, relationships and partnerships with families is important!
Hey Edisa, I agree with your long detailed response to number 6.
1. What is the main cause of differences and tensions with families?
The main cause of differences and tensions with families is differences in culture and values. Additionally, when a child needs additional support.
2. What can infant/ toddler professionals do about these tensions?
Have adequate professional cultural training and coming to the conclusion that everyone comes with their own set of values and that helps find a solution that connects their values to the ones of the program and acknowledge the differences. Also, having a diverse group of caregivers can help ease some tensions around families. Make the environment welcoming to the families and being open helps the families. Find professionals that can help back up the observations the caregiver sees in the child’s needs. Also, find common ground/solution between caregiver and parent.
3. Why do families make “unreasonable requests” of staff and programs?
Sometimes because a lot of the families are first time parents who leave their children in the care of a another person, many times they do not have control of the many hours their infant will be in the care of the program and thus they make unreasonable demands or ask to provide certain things to have more control over the time the infant has in the program.
4. How can staff work with families when those requests are made?
Speaking with the families and explaining that exposing the infant more often to the program will help remove many of the unreasonable requests families make and have more trust in the program.
5. What can be done when tensions between families and staff become conflicts?
Negotiating with families about the conflicts head-on. Finding common ground within family and caregiver, or have coordination support to help ease the conflicts.
6. How does this video relate to the Gillespie (2006) reading? Make specific connections, identifying the page number.
This relates to Gillespie (2006) because in the reading it states how it is important to keep communication open with families and listening to them. On page 2 states, “Active listening means giving our undivided attention when someone seeks us out for conversation”, and this is important because families and caregivers should listen to the concerns they have and find what can be the best way they can give the best care to the infant.
Hey Daisy, I like how you made a connection between the reading and the video. They both focus on the importance of communication and being able to hear them out and keep a healthy communication and bond. Good Job :).
Daisy — Thanks for your ideas! We have to constantly be aware of our judgments and biases in our work with families! On-going support to develop of skills & practices is important!
Hey, Daisy, I like how you added that its important that a child might need additional support.
What is the main cause of differences and tensions with families?
The main cause of differences and tensions with families is mostly cultural value or lifestyle values.
What can infant/ toddler professionals do about these tensions?
Something an infant/ toddler professional can do about these tensions is get the best training and make sure others have a better understanding of cultures.
Why do families make “unreasonable requests” of staff and programs?
They do this so they can be included in the child’s life, and to have control over the child while being with the teacher.
How can staff work with families when those requests are made?
Building a relationship with the families this will the family to feel comfort of the families gets more comfortable.
What can be done when tensions between families and staff become conflicts?
Communication is key. The best thing to do is to talk out the problems and to make sure things are being handled appropriately.
How does this video relate to the Gillespie (2006) reading? Make specific connections,
Both the video and the reading Gillespie (2006) talk about understanding families culture and beliefs with a deeper and better mindset.
Isis I agree communication is key and as long as things are addressed there will be fewer conflicts.
1.Cultural values, different ways of thinking.
2. Professionals can get special education on this matter so that they can help them understand their differences.
3. They do those requests because they want to make sure their opinion on their child is heard and taken into account.
4.Based on the previous existing of a relationship of communication they can find a middle point where the families request is considered while the staff member is comfortable with is also.
5. I think the best to do is to talk about it and find a middle point.
6. the video and the reading both argue the importance of understating the differences families from different cultures may have. therefore its important that we understand these and can help dissolve possible inconvenient.
i reviewed this module
The main causes of differences is the families beliefs and values they have that they teach their child.
As a teacher you need to understand the family and find a common ground so things go smooth
The video and reading both express how to find a common ground with families of strong beliefs and values