FAMILY STRONG: A STRENGTHS BASED APPROACH TO MAINTAINING A MENTALLY HEALTHY HOME CULTURE
Families encounter stressors (positive and negative) and challenges that can sometimes impact the entire mood of the household. From financial concerns, experiencing the consequences of a global pandemic, a child experiencing some personal difficulties that impact their behavior, household changes and transitions, and even positive things like moving to a new home or welcoming a newborn sibling can still cause families to rely on coping skills to manage their emotions and provide a sense of stability and resiliency. Home stressors often impact children and youth in a major way and can even manifest in ways that effect their ability to engage in school. Protective factors are strengths and resources that families can use especially when life gets challenging. Relying on strengths is a great way to minimize stress and maintain a healthy home culture for all family members. Here are some practical ways to implement protective factors in your family that are both beneficial for adults and children.
At the end of each day, take time to connect with your children and other adults in the household. You may hug, smile, laugh, dance, sing a song, or simply talk and listen to each other.
Get creative in ways to engage while doing everyday task such as cooking, grocery shopping, or while driving. This is also another great opportunity to talk and ask or answer questions that they may have.
Learn about helpful techniques and strategies that increase your knowledge about supporting your children based on their developmental stage. You can talk with your child’s doctor, school staff and other parenting resources within your community.
Practice personal self-care and model healthy ways to manage emotions.
Surround yourself and your family with positive and supportive people. This can be family, friends, social groups, or community connections.
Create a list of community resources that can be helpful.
Create household routines and rituals that everyone can look forward to.
Talk about feelings and introduce new feeling words to enhance emotional vocabulary.
Teach and model problem solving skills.