Child%20Rearing%20Across%20Cultures

1

• Child Rearing Across Cultures

2
Understanding child rearing across cultures

• Cultural groups define success differently.
• Cultural differences influence practitioners
  views.
• Cultural differences influence parent
  perspectives of the intervention system
  educational process.
• Incongruence between cultures can create barriers
  or misunderstandings.

3
Common Goals Across Cultures

• Providing for childrens physical, health,
  safety needs.
• Pass on basic values/norms of culture (specific)
  and society (general).
• Help children become competent, contributing,
  successful adults.

4
Perspectives on child rearing

• Individualism
• Child as individual
• Personal choice and independent thinking.
• Emphasis on cognition
• Support for individual self expression.

5
More perspectives on child rearing

• Collectivism
• Child as part of group
• Respect for elders and other authority figures
  emphasis on consensus
• Emphasis on social skills
• Support for accepting authority

6
(No Transcript)
7
Latino Cultural Perspectives and Child Rearing

I took this picture on Sunday, after Mass. I
thought about taking it to send it to their
grandparents, so they could see the children. My
husband and I have been a long time without
seeing our parents, and the children dont know
them, only through pictures. My parents last saw
my daughter when she was 7 months old, when we
left Mexico.
8
La FamiliaFamilism as a cultural value

• A strong identification and attachment to the
  family that is marked by strong feelings of
  loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity among family
  members
• It includes the extended network of blood
  relatives, compadres (Godparents), and in-laws.
• Extended family networks provide a sense of
  cultural identity and social support.

9
Three Components of Familism

• Family obligations
• Family help
• Family guide

10
This is Susy with her uncle Gilberto. Here, the
brothers visit each other a lot, we eat together,
specially on the weekends. In the picture,
Gilberto is telling to Susy, No kisses, but he
is laughing.
11
Respeto

• Certain roles require/demand particular
  behaviors.
• Who deserves our respeto.
• Personal regard for the individual who occupies
  that role.
• Faltar al respeto (to offend anothers sense of
  dignity) is considered to be a serious affront.

12
(No Transcript)
13
Un niño bien educado(A well educated child)

• The concept of Educación refers to the total task
  of bringing up a moral and responsible child.
• It means teaching children important lessons.
• Most of the teaching is carried out through
  Consejos.
• It is integrated to the importance of morality,
  respect and family unity.

14
Mothers believed that their role as educators
of their children required that they engage
constantly in the practice of dando consejos
(guiding their children), and they did it
whenever there was any verbal interaction between
them and their children Valdés, 1996.
15
More Child-rearing Values

• Interdependence
• Cooperation
• Children are included in adult world
• Activities for children are people oriented
• Multiple modes of communication are emphasized

16
Building Partnerships with Latino
Families

• Face to Face Communication
• Personalism
• Trust/ Confianza

17
Personal relationships are very important in
building confianza with Latino families
18
Remember.

• Although Latinos share many common values,
  differences among Latino subgroups exist.
• As in any ethnic or cultural group, it is
  possible to find different perspectives and
  points of view among individual families and, of
  course, among individual children.

19
Latino Families Perspectives on Disabilities

• Extended family may be involved in decisions
  related to the childs disability.
• Professionals who work with children with
  disabilities may be seen as the experts.

20
Latino Families Perspectives on Disabilities
(cont)

• Families may link biomedical causes of disability
  to spiritual phenomenon or socio-cultural
  beliefs.
• Religious faith and folk practices may be welcome
  in the process of healing.

21
Accessibility and utilization of services
Challenges

• Latino families are at increased risk for lack of
  access to and underutilization of services.
• Latino families report greater needs for
  information about how to get services.
• The degree of involvement in planning and
  coordinating services for children with
  disabilities is also lower in Latino parents

22
Why Latino parents have lower access and
involvement ?

• Lack familiarity with education, health, human
  services systems, and early intervention system.
• Latinos interact in a collective way, but want to
  keep certain matters in private.
• Parents may not feel at ease if their English
  language skills are limited.
• Different perceptions of parent and professional
  roles

23
Why Latino parents have lower access and
involvement? (contd)

• May think that if they complain the services
  their child receives could be affected.
• May feel that written communication is not a warm
  way to be informed.
• Other challenges lack of transportation, no
  access to childcare, work demands.

24
Accessibility and utilization of services
Strategies

• Hire bilingual providers or trained interpreters.
• Hire Spanish-speaking, preferably bicultural
  liaison to conduct outreach and coordinate
  services.
• Translate documents and information into Spanish.

25
Accessibility and utilization of services
Strategies (contd)

• Offer transportation and childcare.
• Provide training for personnel on cultural and
  linguistic diversity.
• Collaborate with churches, tiendas, community
  colleges ESL classes, Latino and other community
  organizations for outreach services

26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)