In response to some recent events in the OKC Metro area involving child sexual abuse cases, Family Builders has "amped up" its intentions to encourage parents to learn the facts and know the signs of child, sexual abuse. We believe that an informed parent is an empowered parent, and that child abuse is preventable.
A letter, written by our own Executive Director, Laura Gamble, has been published on the NewsOK website. Click the link below to read her compelling article.
"Child Abuse is Tragic, But Also Preventable"
Going hand-in-hand with Laura's article, Family Builders has published a fact sheet for parents that encourages them to "Learn the Facts, and Know the Signs" of child, sexual abuse. The facts and information provided in this sheet have been published with the intention of giving parents a tool that can arm them with the necessary information to protect their children from sexual predators.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5fBzorj0y_lcXpZb0lfckc1ekU
Child Abuse is preventable, but parents must be informed in order to prevent it!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Protective Factors #2 and #3: Knowledge of Parenting and Child and Youth Development & Parental Resilience
Good morning, Good morning! With the weekend behind you once more, we here at Family Builders hope that you spent Saturday and Sunday enjoying your children, spending time with them, and most of all, nurturing them through love and communication. With this nurturing comes the attachment from child to parent that we discussed in last week's blog post in Protective Factor #1. Over the weekend, breaking news in the Metro included a sad child, sexual abuse case that reminds us all that these Protective Factors are indeed important in building a bond with, and protecting your children from the many dangers of the world. As parents, you are the only ones who can create that nurturing bond that leads to trust and love between you and your child. These 6 Protective Factors are SO important!
Today's blog topic covers the second and third factors of the 6 Protective Factors. Protective Factor #2 is: Knowledge of Parenting and Child and Youth Development.
Having a firm grasp on the concept and definition of parenting, as well as the proper tools to implement responsible parenting, will only further the attachment and bond between you and your child. Parenting is not always hugs, smiles, and spoiling. Sometimes, tough parenting and proper discipline comes into play. However, love is always at the root of discipline, and this discipline is most effective and more nurturing when a parent knows how to set and enforce limits, while encouraging appropriate behaviors for that child's age (www.childwelfare.gov). A parent must have a firm grasp on how children and youth develop, learn, and grow in order to properly enforce rules and discipline that encourage children to live up to their potential. However, it should be cautioned that discipline does not mean abuse, and abuse is NOT discipline. Those that believe these concepts are one and the same have an inability to grasp the knowledge of true parenting.
Having a grasp on true parenting means not just learning your child's behavior and how they should be properly developing, but learning to be a coach, mentor, and encourager. Here at Family Builders we provide classes and coaches that can help parents to grasp that true meaning of parenting and teach them the skills necessary to approach parenting armed with knowledge and understanding of their children's development.
Parents who have a true grasp on parenting often display these signs:
-teaching concepts of family morals, values, and family rules
-display behavior management, such as fire-proofing the home, establishing clear family rules, and using choices and consequences
-practice behavior modification through loss of privilege, grounding, expressing parental disappointment in their child's chosen behavior, and time out
-behavior encouragement, such as praise for being and doing good, nurturing touch, privileges, gifts, and allowance to teach money management for older children
-know alternatives to corporal punishment strategies
-teaching children to manage their own behavior
(www.nurturingparenting.com)
Knowledge of the strategies of proper parenting are difficult to come by and often cause stress in a parent's life, but are important to proper family development, structure, and love. This leads us to Protective Factor #3: Parental Resilience
Parents of all demographics, social standing, and nationalities deal with the every day stress of parenting and the occasional family/parenting crisis. Parents must learn to be resilient and they must be able to reach out to the proper resources to receive parental guidance and help, as well as have the ability to "bounce" back to normalcy after adversity hits (www.state.il.us/DCFS).
These parents who are able to become emotionally resilient are better able to obtain a positive attitude, creatively solve problems, address challenges in an effective manner, and are less likely to direct stress, anger, and frustration onto their own children (www.childwelfare.gov).
This resilience however does not come naturally and is often a learned behavior that CAN eventually become a personality trait (www.nurturingparenting.com). Those parents who were first victims of child abuse themselves, may initially have a harder time coming to terms with everyday stresses and learning to bounce back from them effectively. However, as a parent, it is important to learn to be resilient for the sake of your children and your family.
Parents should build a stock house of resources that include information about the causes of stress, as well as the results. They should recognize stress and its triggers, and learn how to cope with it properly. According to www.childwelfare.gove, here are some ways for parents to build resilience:
-develop stress management techniques (regular exercise, relaxing music, praying, etc).
-plan ahead, anticipate possible difficulties, and have a coping plan
-have a proper support system set up (parenting classes, family, friends, faith communities, and community resources)
-develop family management techniques such as effective ways of communicating
-find programs that offer family-to-family help and mentoring
-develop concrete skill building in problem solving, goal setting, communication, and self-care when crisis or stress hit
These two Protective Factors are extremely important in helping to develop a happy, healthy home life, where a true knowledge of parenting exists and is exercised with love and compassion. Family Builders of Oklahoma City cannot only provide you with classes to development this knowledge and stability, but can also teach you as a parent, how to be resilient when stress occurs without resorting to violence or corporal punishment. Here at Family Builders, we want to help you build a loving homelife. For more information, visit our website at www.familybuildersok.org
More information on the 6 Protective Factors can be found at www.nurturingparenting.com
Enjoy your week, and enjoy your children!
Today's blog topic covers the second and third factors of the 6 Protective Factors. Protective Factor #2 is: Knowledge of Parenting and Child and Youth Development.
Having a firm grasp on the concept and definition of parenting, as well as the proper tools to implement responsible parenting, will only further the attachment and bond between you and your child. Parenting is not always hugs, smiles, and spoiling. Sometimes, tough parenting and proper discipline comes into play. However, love is always at the root of discipline, and this discipline is most effective and more nurturing when a parent knows how to set and enforce limits, while encouraging appropriate behaviors for that child's age (www.childwelfare.gov). A parent must have a firm grasp on how children and youth develop, learn, and grow in order to properly enforce rules and discipline that encourage children to live up to their potential. However, it should be cautioned that discipline does not mean abuse, and abuse is NOT discipline. Those that believe these concepts are one and the same have an inability to grasp the knowledge of true parenting.
Having a grasp on true parenting means not just learning your child's behavior and how they should be properly developing, but learning to be a coach, mentor, and encourager. Here at Family Builders we provide classes and coaches that can help parents to grasp that true meaning of parenting and teach them the skills necessary to approach parenting armed with knowledge and understanding of their children's development.
Parents who have a true grasp on parenting often display these signs:
-teaching concepts of family morals, values, and family rules
-display behavior management, such as fire-proofing the home, establishing clear family rules, and using choices and consequences
-practice behavior modification through loss of privilege, grounding, expressing parental disappointment in their child's chosen behavior, and time out
-behavior encouragement, such as praise for being and doing good, nurturing touch, privileges, gifts, and allowance to teach money management for older children
-know alternatives to corporal punishment strategies
-teaching children to manage their own behavior
(www.nurturingparenting.com)
Knowledge of the strategies of proper parenting are difficult to come by and often cause stress in a parent's life, but are important to proper family development, structure, and love. This leads us to Protective Factor #3: Parental Resilience
Parents of all demographics, social standing, and nationalities deal with the every day stress of parenting and the occasional family/parenting crisis. Parents must learn to be resilient and they must be able to reach out to the proper resources to receive parental guidance and help, as well as have the ability to "bounce" back to normalcy after adversity hits (www.state.il.us/DCFS).
These parents who are able to become emotionally resilient are better able to obtain a positive attitude, creatively solve problems, address challenges in an effective manner, and are less likely to direct stress, anger, and frustration onto their own children (www.childwelfare.gov).
This resilience however does not come naturally and is often a learned behavior that CAN eventually become a personality trait (www.nurturingparenting.com). Those parents who were first victims of child abuse themselves, may initially have a harder time coming to terms with everyday stresses and learning to bounce back from them effectively. However, as a parent, it is important to learn to be resilient for the sake of your children and your family.
Parents should build a stock house of resources that include information about the causes of stress, as well as the results. They should recognize stress and its triggers, and learn how to cope with it properly. According to www.childwelfare.gove, here are some ways for parents to build resilience:
-develop stress management techniques (regular exercise, relaxing music, praying, etc).
-plan ahead, anticipate possible difficulties, and have a coping plan
-have a proper support system set up (parenting classes, family, friends, faith communities, and community resources)
-develop family management techniques such as effective ways of communicating
-find programs that offer family-to-family help and mentoring
-develop concrete skill building in problem solving, goal setting, communication, and self-care when crisis or stress hit
These two Protective Factors are extremely important in helping to develop a happy, healthy home life, where a true knowledge of parenting exists and is exercised with love and compassion. Family Builders of Oklahoma City cannot only provide you with classes to development this knowledge and stability, but can also teach you as a parent, how to be resilient when stress occurs without resorting to violence or corporal punishment. Here at Family Builders, we want to help you build a loving homelife. For more information, visit our website at www.familybuildersok.org
More information on the 6 Protective Factors can be found at www.nurturingparenting.com
Enjoy your week, and enjoy your children!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Protective Factor #1
Happy Monday to all!
Today, I would like to introduce each of you to the 6 Protective Factors which are often used in nurturing parenting programs. Here at Family Builders, we encourage families to recognize, initiate, and foster these factors into their home life.
These 6 Protective Factors which were identified by the government, were designed to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Recently, research has shown that when present in families and communities, the 6 Protective Factors have been linked to a lower rate and incidence of child abuse and neglect (nurturingparenting.com).
The 6 Protective Factors are:
1. Nurturing and Attachment
2. Knowledge of Parenting and Child and Youth Development
3. Parental Resilience
4. Social Connections
5. Concrete Support Services for Parents
6. Social and Emotional Competence of Children
For the next 6 weeks, I would like to focus on 1 of the 6 Protective Factors. This week, we will start with #1: Nurturing and Attachment
This factor is the first step in creating and nurturing a healthy family environment. According to Dictionary.com, the word "nurturing" means to feed and protect; to support and encourage; or to bring up, train, and educate.
Parents should be protecting, supporting, encouraging, training, and educating their children in every aspect of life, values, and skills possible. The act of nurturing builds a close bond between parent and child that allows parents to better understand, respond to, and communicate with their children (fosteringhopeinitiative.org). When this bond of understanding occurs, with it comes a certain attachment between parent and child.
This attachment and bond leads to a greater development of trust between child and parent, and fosters an environment where a child can thrive on the guidance, love, and acceptance that only a parent can give them. A nurturing relationship allows for children to properly develop both mentally and spiritually, while helping parents to recognize early signs of trouble as the child grows.
Remember, nurturing does not just occur at the infant and toddler level of growth, but throughout a child's life. There are different ways of nurturing for different age groups, as well as varying from child to child and parent to parent. The concept of nurturing will vary between homes and lifestyles, but must be consistent in love, respect, encouragement, trust building, and positive parental responses to a child's behavior.
ChildWelfare.gov offers some parental strategies that help to promote nurturing:
-Infant care that promotes bonding, such as breastfeeding, rocking, responding to crying, and stability of caregivers
-recognizing the differences in how your children show and express affection
-learning to cope and manage nurturing a child with emotional or behavioral disabilities
-learning the difference between how a mother nurtures and how a father nurtures
-creating quality time to play and interact with your children
-using positive discipline
-communicating effectively
The websites given credit to in this blog are useful portals for further information on these topics and on Factor #1. Remember, these factors all attribute to positive parenting and may help to avoid family stress and violence in the home. Please, continue to do further research and educate yourselves on these important factors. Build families up and develop strategies to better development a happy and healthy home!
Today, I would like to introduce each of you to the 6 Protective Factors which are often used in nurturing parenting programs. Here at Family Builders, we encourage families to recognize, initiate, and foster these factors into their home life.
These 6 Protective Factors which were identified by the government, were designed to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Recently, research has shown that when present in families and communities, the 6 Protective Factors have been linked to a lower rate and incidence of child abuse and neglect (nurturingparenting.com).
The 6 Protective Factors are:
1. Nurturing and Attachment
2. Knowledge of Parenting and Child and Youth Development
3. Parental Resilience
4. Social Connections
5. Concrete Support Services for Parents
6. Social and Emotional Competence of Children
For the next 6 weeks, I would like to focus on 1 of the 6 Protective Factors. This week, we will start with #1: Nurturing and Attachment
This factor is the first step in creating and nurturing a healthy family environment. According to Dictionary.com, the word "nurturing" means to feed and protect; to support and encourage; or to bring up, train, and educate.
Parents should be protecting, supporting, encouraging, training, and educating their children in every aspect of life, values, and skills possible. The act of nurturing builds a close bond between parent and child that allows parents to better understand, respond to, and communicate with their children (fosteringhopeinitiative.org). When this bond of understanding occurs, with it comes a certain attachment between parent and child.
This attachment and bond leads to a greater development of trust between child and parent, and fosters an environment where a child can thrive on the guidance, love, and acceptance that only a parent can give them. A nurturing relationship allows for children to properly develop both mentally and spiritually, while helping parents to recognize early signs of trouble as the child grows.
Remember, nurturing does not just occur at the infant and toddler level of growth, but throughout a child's life. There are different ways of nurturing for different age groups, as well as varying from child to child and parent to parent. The concept of nurturing will vary between homes and lifestyles, but must be consistent in love, respect, encouragement, trust building, and positive parental responses to a child's behavior.
ChildWelfare.gov offers some parental strategies that help to promote nurturing:
-Infant care that promotes bonding, such as breastfeeding, rocking, responding to crying, and stability of caregivers
-recognizing the differences in how your children show and express affection
-learning to cope and manage nurturing a child with emotional or behavioral disabilities
-learning the difference between how a mother nurtures and how a father nurtures
-creating quality time to play and interact with your children
-using positive discipline
-communicating effectively
The websites given credit to in this blog are useful portals for further information on these topics and on Factor #1. Remember, these factors all attribute to positive parenting and may help to avoid family stress and violence in the home. Please, continue to do further research and educate yourselves on these important factors. Build families up and develop strategies to better development a happy and healthy home!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
A New Name with a Fresh Outlook
To begin...
Parents Assistance Center of Oklahoma City now has a new name: Family Builders
With this new name, comes a fresh outlook on our clients' and community's awareness of what we do here at Family Builders. Our slogan, "Building Blocks for Better Relationships" is not just our mission and goal, but our strategy for helping families to repair relationships, prevent child abuse, and build wholesome families and lifestyles.
Some of you may already be familiar with Parents Assistance Center and the mission we have as well as the services we provide. While our name has changed to Family Builders, and with this change comes a makeover in logo, website design and updates, our goals and the services we provide to the community, as well as location, have remained the same.
To view our new website and learn more about us, visit:
http://www.parentsassistancecenter.org/
To view our old blog, which will no longer be active, but provides useful information and previous updates of our activities visit:
http://parentsassistancenteroklahoma.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned as this new, current blog will not only provide updates on events and occurrences here at Family Builders, but will publish useful parenting tips and advice, breakthroughs in current family research, current activities for families in the OKC metro area, as well as fun family facts.
To visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/familybuildersok
Or tweet us @fambuildersok
Parents Assistance Center of Oklahoma City now has a new name: Family Builders
With this new name, comes a fresh outlook on our clients' and community's awareness of what we do here at Family Builders. Our slogan, "Building Blocks for Better Relationships" is not just our mission and goal, but our strategy for helping families to repair relationships, prevent child abuse, and build wholesome families and lifestyles.
Some of you may already be familiar with Parents Assistance Center and the mission we have as well as the services we provide. While our name has changed to Family Builders, and with this change comes a makeover in logo, website design and updates, our goals and the services we provide to the community, as well as location, have remained the same.
To view our new website and learn more about us, visit:
http://www.parentsassistancecenter.org/
To view our old blog, which will no longer be active, but provides useful information and previous updates of our activities visit:
http://parentsassistancenteroklahoma.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned as this new, current blog will not only provide updates on events and occurrences here at Family Builders, but will publish useful parenting tips and advice, breakthroughs in current family research, current activities for families in the OKC metro area, as well as fun family facts.
To visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/familybuildersok
Or tweet us @fambuildersok
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