Family Life Education

Introduction

Social challenges facing the modern society can best be solved using the finest structure of social organization; the family. This is a premise that has been used to deliver dramatic results to the society with regard to teething social challenges facing the family today. The realization that the family offers a channel to arrest potent challenges with capacity to cripple the entire society has been a safe approach since it is possible to tackle social challenges at source. To illustrate how useful this premise is to offering practical solutions to some real social challenges, this discourse highlights the importance of applying social support to the family in various circumstances that compromise social health. This discourse outlines three basic perspectives in unravelling the opportunity availed by the family including; family resource centre concept, nobody’s perfect parenting education platform as well as support for new immigrant families. The basic principle of family support in the illustrations is that social support offers a platform through which people tackle society weaknesses by solving individual weaknesses.

Thesis Statement: the concept of family support offers a channel of penetration into the core of the society to solve major social challenges.

Family Resource Programs

One of the most important tools that a country can use to reach out to the society with regard to social offering of social support is through formulation of policies for community based organizations (CBOs) targeting the family. A countrywide network of CBOs funded by the government, the community and other well wishers should be in a position to create a comprehensive program that caters for the entire nation’s needs. Family resource programs are nationwide projects that are rolled out to reach the family in such a setting as would enable family members (parents, children, grandparents and home care givers) to meet and learn in a supportive environment (FRP Canada, 2010, p5). According to FRP, these programs operate in centres established throughout the country with an aim of giving support to the family to nurture openness, inclusiveness of family members as well as self reflection. Apparently, the setting of the centres gives the environment necessary for members to experience a rare opportunity to get relieved of life tension that ordinary environment would not offer.

It is clear that the family resource centres present learning and growth opportunity to the members of a family than any other program would. Social network enhanced at the centres enables parents and caregivers to establish a sharing platform with the centres’ staff as well as with their peers. It is important fro the family to understand the opportunities they have when they are not in isolation when they share their problems with their new friends at the centre (FRP Canada, 2010, p10). It is not only parents and caregivers who benefit by gaining confidence but children development in socializing, interaction, schooling and fitness gets boosted. The concept of family support through family resource programs therefore offers a channel of penetration into the core of the society to solve major social challenges.

Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Program

The concept of family support offers a channel of penetration into the core of the society to solve major social challenges through special attention to parenting. Under the social program dubbed Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Program, the Canadian government through the Public Health Agency in collaboration of the provincial departments of health reaches to parents with an aim of offering support to the family. According to the principles of the program, parents’ role of taking care of the children social and physical health is acknowledged and support provided thereon so that the impact trickles down to the society. The prime goal of the parenting program is enhancement of the capacity that parents have towards meeting their role of offering care for their children (Charchun and Skrypnek, 2009, p.iv). The program teaches among other things the importance of instilling discipline to the children while they are still young. The authors state that active participation of parents in instilling discipline to their children was successful under the program hence point at the success of the program.

The society stands to develop if the parents changed the intervention of discipline issues that their children get trained on. Empowering parents and the families therefore trickles the impacts down to the society which benefits by having disciplined individuals. Interactions skills that parents and their children ought to apply for a healthy society are also taught under the program. Social problems are solved in many ways in the program include those dealing with parenting stressors (Charchun and Skrypnek, 2009, p.vi).

Support for New Immigrant Families

The Canadian population gets a significant growth factor from immigrants. According to Hetherington, MacAulay and Mann (2010, p3) newcomer families are faced with a myriad of challenges that range from settling down to other social challenges. By establishing a network between family resource centres and families settlement agencies, the Canadian Family Resource Program is capable of dealing with immigrant families problems at a community level. Among the things that the programs handle with special attention, social needs of the families trying to establish a new home in Canada is top on the services offered.

The concept of family support offers a channel of penetration into the core of the society to solve major social challenges, such as those faced by immigrant families. The families settling in Canada need to get the picture of being welcome in the country if settlement is to be successfully achieved. Bearing in mind that the various needs of the family are at stake, family resource programs attempt to provide an environment where useful insights can be availed to the families to assist them cope with settlement difficulties. This is particularly important since the new families need to contribute to the Canadian society in a positive way, with the diversity that they add to the society. There may be marked negative beliefs from the native society about the incoming families and support is important in regaining courage to face life in the new environment.

References

Charchun, J. & Skrypnek, B. J. (2009) “An Evaluation of the Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Program.” Ottawa, ON: Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs

FRP Canada (2010) “Online Evaluation of for Family Resource Programs.” Ottawa, ON: Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs

Hetherington, K., MacAulay, J. & Mann, B. (2010) “Support for New Immigrant Families- Challenges and Opportunities.” Perspectives, 3:3-32