Building relationships with families is one of the most important things that family-facing providers do. Yet, building collaborative, trusting relationships is not always easy. Research shows that using a strengths-based approach to family engagement supports the well-being of the family. In this workshop series, you will learn how to further cultivate a strengths-based mindset in your work with families.Â
This series is designed for all professionals who work with families of young children, including child care educators, family child care providers, home visitors, pediatricians, child welfare workers, early intervention educators, and more.
Facilitator:
- Eva Rivera, MSW, Professional Development Program Manager and National Facilitator at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center
Each workshop is 90 minutes. All workshops have live Spanish translation and closed captioning available!
Price: $35/workshop or $150 for all 5 workshops
BTC Learning Network Member Price: $33/workshop or $145 for all 5
Can’t attend the live workshops? Register to access the recordings! All registrants will have access to the webinar recording for 30 days.
Workshop 1
A View from All Sides: Perspective-Taking to Support Family Engagment
When interacting with families, finding common ground is critical. Taking multiple perspectives on a situation can help family-facing providers identify a common place where we can join with families. This requires reflecting on all points of view: one’s own, the child’s, and that of their family members. In this workshop, you will learn how to use perspective-taking to connect with families in their child’s care and development.
Workshop 2
Choosing your Attitude: Using Strengths-Based Family Assumptions
Providers’ assumptions and emotions can sometimes get in the way of effective engagement with families. For example, when a family doesn’t follow through on a recommendation, the provider can become frustrated. Choosing to adopt strength-based family assumptions supports providers in discovering the strengths of the families with whom they work, which leads to improved relationships. In this workshop, you will learn how to use strengths-based assumptions in our interactions with families.
Workshop 3
I Hear You: Active Listening to Engage Families
Learning from families what is happening in their lives is crucial to being able to support them. However, sometimes families don’t come out and tell us what is going on. This is where active listening can help. When we listen to understand what is most important to the family in that moment, we can join with parents in their hopes, dreams, and goals for their child. In this workshop, we explore some specific listening techniques that can help providers deepen their connections with families.
Workshop 4
The Power of Observation: Connecting with Families Through the Child’s Behavior
Finding ways to connect with families of young children can be challenging. When providers share with families specific details of what they notice about their child—such as their interests or temperament — they open the door to connecting. In this workshop, participants learn specific steps for using the child’s behavior to open up communication with the family.
Workshop 5
Valuing Passion: Connecting with Families Around What They Care About
Families show us a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, as they navigate through their ever-changing experiences (e.g., routines, new skills, discipline, feeding) with their child. The negative emotions that families sometimes show can be challenging for providers to manage. Reframing these emotions as coming from a family’s passion for their child can strengthen our partnerships with families. In this workshop, we explore ways that providers can value families’ passion as an engagement strategy.