Family Cooperation and Adjustment to Challenges

Facing Facing Family Family Challenges Challenges Week 11 Unit 1 Mental, Emotional, and Social Health

Describe activities in which families cooperate. Explain how families can adjust to changes and challenges. List ways in which healthy families communicate. Objectives

Adoption Foster child Separation Divorce Abuse Neglect Vocabulary

Family members face many challenges together. They have responsibilities at home, at school, and at work. They may also have to cope with changes. There may be a new family member, an illness, separation, or a divorce. When family members meet these challenges with caring and respect, they can help each other s mental and emotional health. Family Challenges Family Challenges

Family Balancing Act Family Balancing Act Many families have to balance the demands of jobs, school, and home. It takes organization to meet these demands. The family needs to plan who will do what. Parents/Guardians may work to earn and income. At home they may cook, clean, and take care of the needs of other family members.

Children Can Help Children Can Help Children help family, too. They do chores around the house to help their parents or guardians. This gets work done sooner so families can have more leisure time together. It also helps children learn skills they will need when they grow up and have homes of their own.

What Chores Do you have and why?

Responsibility Responsibility As children grow, they take on more responsibility. Being responsible means that they do their chores as well as they can. They make sure they finish the chores they are asked to do. Their parents or guardians know they can trust their children to do their part to keep the family working well.

Families grow and change over time. Sometimes these changes are difficult. Family members can work together to ace the challenges they cause. Growth and Change Growth and Change

New Family New Family Members Members A child might be born or adopted. Through adoption parents take a child of other parents into their family. Some families foster children. A foster child is a child who lives in a family without being related by birth or adopted.

I was adopted

New Family New Family Members Members When a new child enters the family, an older child may feel happy to have a new brother or sister. Does anyone have siblings? Younger or older? Do you remember how you felt or they felt when the change happened in your family? He or she may feel sad, lonely, or jealous because his or her parents need to spend time with the new brother or sister. Sharing feelings among family members can help children adjust.

What happens if a family member becomes ill and needs care? Other family members can cooperate to help the person. They can work together to handle the chores the ill family member used to do. They can love and support each other through difficult times. Illness Illness

Death Death

Separation Separation Usually parents can solve problems in their marriage. Everyone has problems, nothing is perfect no matter how much families love each other. If they cannot solve their problems or come to a resolution, they may decide to separate. A separation occurs when a couple is still married but the husband and wife are living apart. Sometimes they can solve their problems, and they decide to live together again.

Sometimes parents can t solve their problems. A divorce is a legal end to a marriage. Divorce can make children feel very sad enough though they are not at fault or the one to blame. Talking helps children and their parents deal with the changes. Divorce Divorce

Abuse Abuse People should feel safe in their families. Unfortunately, this isn t always true. A family member may abuse or neglect other family members. To abuse someone is to treat him or her roughly or harshly. Yelling or hitting family members is a kind of abuse.

Neglect Neglect Neglect is the lack of attention or care. Not giving a child the food, shelter or health care that he or she needs is neglect. Family members may be injured by the abuse or neglect. They may feel afraid, sad, and lonely. They be scared to tell anyone about the abuse or neglect. Their physical, mental, and emotional health may suffer.

Sometimes abuse and neglect are caused by drug or alcohol abuse. Other times, it happens when family members feel stressed and do not know how to express it in healthful ways. Why do people harm Why do people harm family members? family members?

Getting Help Getting Help A family member in which abuse or neglect exists needs help right away. Families may also need help to adjust to changes. If you need help dealing with a family change, first talk to your parents, guardian, or another responsible adult. There are also resources in many communities to help families adjust to change and challenges. School counselors, religious leaders, doctors, and social workers have a special training to help families manage hard times.

In a healthy family, family members feel a strong bond with one another. They can strengthen this bond by showing caring and respect for each other. They use words and actions to show how much they care. They know it is important to express their feelings daily. Family Ties Family Ties

Make time for each other Make time for each other Family members make time to talk to each other. They share their thoughts and their feelings. They care about what other family members have to say.

Show respect Show respect Family members talk in ways that are open, honest, and positive. They don t put each other down. For example, they admit their mistake and apologize for them.

Family members consider each other s feelings when they make a decision. Once parents and guardians make a decision, everyone honors the decision. What does honor the decision mean? Consider each other s feelings

Family members share household duties. When everyone helps, work is done faster. This leaves more time for the family members to do fun things together. What things are fun in your family? Quality time Share tasks Share tasks

Resolving Conflict in Resolving Conflict in Families Families All families have conflict and conflict can be resolved in healthful ways. They listen to each other. They cooperate to work things out. They apologize for problems they may have caused. They resolve conflict in ways that agree with family guidelines. Family members may not always communicate in ways they know they should. Sometimes disagreements take time to resolve. Even during rough times family members still show care and respect for one another and remain loyal.