Family Communication during the 2019 Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) Pandemic

Conversations among parents and children about the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) and how to prevent the transmission can reduce anxiety and a fear of children about the situation around them. Family communication refers to the verbal and non-verbal word that is happened between family members. Communication involves the ability to pay attention to others about what they think and feel. Communication does not only involve verbal words, but also listens to each other. The purpose of this article was to find out how parent-child communication during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method of this article used literature studies from books, scientific journals, and the internet websites. The results showed that healthy families communicated effectively well, while families with unhealthy relationships had poor communication. The effective communication in the family can be improved by family members through the quality of their relationships, namely frequent communication, communicating clearly and directly, being an active listener, communicating openly and honestly, thinking about people with whom to communicate, paying attention to non-verbal messages, communicating positively, and focus on family strengths. It is better if parents can increase their interaction with their children regarding Covid-19 messages during the pandemic, because it can make an impact on the relationship between parent-child.

The impact of strength-based interventions on the mobility of families raising children with autism

The birth of a child with autism determines the characteristics of the family in the system of social interactions. The objective of the study is to determine the features of the impact of a strength-centered approach on the mobility of families raising children with autism based on the analysis of the academic literature and through the experimental implementation of the intervention. The study involved 90 parents of children with autism (two control groups consisting of 30 people each and an experimental group consisting of 30 people; the experiment was conducted on the basis of the Training and Rehabilitation Center "Trust" in Lviv). The analysis of the academic literature made it possible to identify different strategies of social support for families, to characterize the approach focused on the strengths of clients. A survey of parents revealed that families raising children with autism have low indicators of social mobility, which is determined by the characteristics of the nosology of autism, the need for care, living with a sense of stigma and autostigma. The intervention lasted for three months and involved the participation of parents in weekly meetings. The results of the experiment substantiate the effectiveness of the use of interventions based on family strengths to improve self-esteem of the quality of life by family members, including increasing social activity of the family, developing skills of interaction with the social environment, reducing guilt and shame, transformation of negative attitudes to cooperation into positive ones, increase in the number of interactions in the life of family members and desire for professional and cultural integration into the life of the community. However, the application of the approach has certain limitations, among which should be noted the need for intrinsic motivation of the family, the risks of ethical or methodological dilemmas for social workers; the threat of regression at the end of participation in the intervention, the impossibility of applying the approach in emergency and short-term forms of work.

Utilizing a Growth Mindset and the Tadros Theory of Change to Increase Children’s Well-Being

Mindsets play huge roles in individuals’ goals, attitudes, relationships, motivation, and potential. A growth mindset is the desired mindset to have; it is very positive, learning focused, and encouraging. The academic benefits for students with growth mindsets include earning better grades, more motivation, and scoring higher on national standardized tests than students with fixed mindsets. Many studies have been conducted to determine the effects mindsets have on humans, specifically in terms of academics and overall well-being; however, there needs to be a stronger connection from research to practice to directly apply this mindset. The Tadros Theory of Change is integrated with a growth mindset to better conceptualize family strengths and structure as well as to empower and encourage growth and change. This article offers clinical implications for practice for both counselors and families and provides future research directions.

The Multiple Dimensions of Family Meals and Their Associations with Family Strengths from the Perspective of Korean Mothers with School-Aged Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between family meals and family strengths (cohesion and flexibility) in Korean families with school-aged children. We focused on five dimensions of family meals: frequency, family rituals, communication, rules and roles, and perceptions. Our data came from 619 mothers who were married with at least one child in elementary school. Our multiple regression analyses showed that mothers reported higher levels of both cohesion and flexibility when they gave a higher priority to family meals, made family meals a ritual, had conversations on diverse topics during family meals, or experienced lower levels of meal-related stress. In addition, higher levels of family flexibility were found when a family had more structured rules related to family meals and the father more regularly participated in meal-related housework. This study contributes to the literature by understanding the roles of family meals from a multidimensional perspective.

Parent Cooperative Early Childhood Settings: Empowering Family Strengths and Family Engagement for All Young Children

Parent cooperative preschools are unique educational enterprises because they involve the participation of parents and children. The purpose of this historical qualitative analysis examines the history of parent cooperative preschools and the contributions of this type of early childhood setting, including parent engagement in the classroom, family strengths (both personal and in the community), and the teacher’s role in the classroom as a facilitator, leader, and parent educator. Reflections from past parent cooperative board members of a parent cooperative are included sharing their personal contributions, joys, collaborations, and challenges of engagement in this type of early childhood program. The reflections from the parent cooperative board members share insight into the role they played in the awareness of early childhood education to society, family engagement, advocacy, and the critical importance of this type of early childhood setting for all young children. Parent cooperative preschools encourages families to engage in reciprocal relationships with teachers by offering learning activities for the home and in the community. They are associated with important values and virtues for families to grow and learn with their child.