Developing
Relationships with Families
WORKING WITH FAMILIES
Reaching Out to Parents and Families
Recommendations for working with families
Recommendations for working with families
Involve parents and families in the learning and development of their children.
When possible, visit the child's community (for example, shops, churches,
and playgrounds); read and learn about the community through the use of books,
pictures, observations, and conversations with community members; and visit
the home and meet with other family members.
Invite parents and families to share, participate, and engage in activities
with their children. Ask parents to share stories, songs, drawings, and experiences
of their linguistic and cultural background. Ask parents to serve as monitors
or field trip organizers. Families and parents should be invited to share
activities that are developmentally appropriate and meaningful within their
culture. These opportunities demonstrate to the parent what their child is
learning; increase the knowledge, information, and understanding of all children
regarding people of different cultures and linguistic backgrounds; and establish
a meaningful relationship with the parent.
Encourage and assist all parents in becoming knowledgeable about the cognitive
value for children of knowing more than one language, and provide them with
strategies to support, maintain, and preserve home-language learning. In an
early childhood setting and atmosphere in which the home language is preserved,
acknowledged, and respected, all parents can learn the value of home-language
development and the strength it provides children as they add to their existing
knowledge and understanding. Parents and teachers can learn how to become
advocates regarding the long-term benefits that result from bilingualism.
Parents and teachers recognize the acquisition of English as an intellectual
accomplishment, an opportunity for economic growth and development, and a
means for achieving academic success. There are even times when parents may
wish for the ability, or have been mistakenly encouraged, to speak to their
children only in English, a language of which the parents themselves may not
have command. The educator should understand the effects that speaking only
in English can have upon the child, the family, and the child's learning.
The teacher must be able to explain that speaking to the child only in English
can often result in communications being significantly hindered and verbal
interactions being limited and unnatural between the parent and the child.
In using limited English, parents may communicate to children using simple
phrases and commands (for example, "Sit down" or "Stop");
modeling grammatically incorrect phrases (for example, "We no go store");
or demonstrating other incorrect usages of language that are common when persons
acquire a second language. From these limited and incorrect verbal interactions,
the amount of language the child is hearing is reduced, and the child s vocabulary
growth is restricted, contributing to an overall decrease in verbal expression.
When parents do not master the second language yet use the second language
to communicate with their child, there is an increased likelihood that the
child will not hear complex ideas or abstract thoughts important skills needed
for cognitive and language development. The teacher must explain that language
is developed through natural language interactions. These natural interactions
occur within the day-to-day setting, through radio and television, when using
public transportation, and in play with children whose dominant language is
English. The parent and the teacher must work collaboratively to achieve the
goal of children's learning English.
Through the home language and culture, families transmit to their children
a sense of identity, an understanding of how to relate to other people, and
a sense of belonging. When parents and children cannot communicate with one
another, family and community destabilization can occur. Children who are
proficient in their home language are able to maintain a connectedness to
their histories, their stories, and the day-to-day events shared by parents,
grandparents, and other family members who may speak only the home language.
Without the ability to communicate, parents are not able to socialize their
children, share beliefs and value systems, and directly influence, coach,
and model with their children.
For further information and resources, please click on the links below (via
the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education):
Bilingual Brochures for
Parents. UIC Center for Literacy. 1995.
- Building Positive Relationships with Your Children: Communication &
Discipline. [español]
- Helping Your Children Learn at Home, in School, and in the Community. [español]
- Helping Your Children Learn to Read and Write at Home. [español]
- Helping Your Children Through Their Adolescent Years. [español]
- Learning Outside the School: Using Your Community Resources. [español]
- Parents and Schools:Getting Involved, Knowing Your Rights, Assuming Responsibilities.
[español]
- Parents and Schools:Working Together. [español]
- Planning for the Future:Helping Your Children Make Career Choices. [español]
- Talking with Your Children. [español]
Responding
to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity
Recommendations for Effective Early Childhood Education
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