Preventions
The Top Five Factors in Raising Children Safely and Wisely
Most of us know the saying "you need a license to drive a car but no license to raise a child." There may not be such a license, but there are wonderful resources for care-providers. The desire to be a good and loving parent seems as though it should be enough to guarantee effective parenting skills, but it's not. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect and its Child Welfare Information Gateway and the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention collectively discovered the following five research-based factors about healthy parenting and assembled them a Resource Packet called Promoting Healthy Families in Your Community. You can obtain this packet by going to the website www.childwelfare.gov/preventing. This site is the Child Welfare Information Gateway. Below is a quick review of the five factors.
- Nurturing and Attachment. The early emotional family and caregiver environment of children is very important. It's easy to think that infants, toddlers and children can "get over" troubling events. Yet, research shows that these early years are the foundation for the children's future ideas about love, life, men, women, trust and the world. Parents need to focus on learning how to remain calm and consistent, give positive messages and reinforce good behavior and hug and cuddle their children.
- Knowledge of Parenting and of Child and Youth Development. Asking for caregiver help is not a sign of weakness or embarrassment-it's a sign of strength and love. The government website listed above, local parenting programs and numerous parenting books in a community's library offer easy tips and guidelines about discipline, setting limits, following through on consequences and still acting lovingly. Discipline is not yelling and hitting. Smart discipline, in fact, is the cornerstone of good parenting. It teaches children how to curb their reactions and allows them to feel safe about having parents who care.
- Parental Resilience. Good parenting requires caregivers to manage their own stresses and emotional reactions. Good parental role models about stress management form another cornerstone in child development. Wise parents can assess the skills of their own parents and make sound changes. Just because your parents hit and you believe "you turned out okay" is no reason to repeat the same behavior. When parents learn coping skills for themselves, the children learn about their own.
- Social Connections. Research has shown that social isolation is a key factor in declining health and parenting skills. Talk about your parenting questions with trusted friends and family members. In the days when families included several generations of people living close by-and sometimes in the same house, there were many voices, opinions, feedback and sets of eyes on children. Today, families have to work harder to help guide caregivers. Take advantage of trusted and sound advice and create a community of your own.
- Concrete Support for Parents. Caregivers need to learn what resources are available in their communities when they need help. Informed and actively socially connected parents are caregivers who do not panic, rely on failed parenting methods or ignore children's needs. Parenting groups, physicians, community programs and religious organizations are just some of the resources that parents can and should use when they are uncertain about what to do. There's another saying to bear in mind: "When the car's broken, parents know where to get the problem fixed. Parents should know the same information about their children."
Founding Sponsor
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our Founding Sponsor and the Official Sponsor of our two annual fundraisers, Longboat Key Club & Resort. Their financial, emotional and volunteer support since the Foundation's inception has been amazing. They are truly making a difference in the lives of many children!
