Building A Solid Foundation
It’s a Thursday night.
The room is alive with animated conversations and the laughter of young children, as families across the community come together to share an evening. Everyone gathers around the table for a family-style,well balanced meal. Afterward, children and their parents spend time together reading and playing, while the parents learn new activities to do with their children at home. After spending time together with their children, the parents connect with each other on a variety of topics – everything from getting a toddler to sleep at night to identifying a learning disability. A child development professional is there to answer questions and provide support.
The families involved in this evening are all different in their dynamics, yet they share a common bond –the desire to raise happy, well-adjusted children. Helping them achieve this goal is what Sioux EmpireFamily Foundations is all about.
Foundations For Families
Research proves that frequent, positive interaction between children and their primary caregivers is keyto a child’s overall social, physical and emotional development. Rich, varied activities have a significant impact on the size and structure of the brain. Parents, grandparents and other primary caregivers areresponsible for laying the groundwork to a healthy, well-adjusted and productive life. Nothing we do in ourlives is more important, more relentlessly demanding or more rewarding than parenting a child.
This year, Sioux Empire United Way introduces Sioux Empire Family Foundations as a tool for supportingparents, enriching families and teaching children valuable social, emotional and developmental skills. This is done through interactive community meetings held at area elementary schools for ALL families with young children in the Sioux Empire. The initiative is modeled after successful programs established across the nation.
Families will meet and build relationships with their neighbors at elementary schools across the Sioux Empire. Additionally, parents will become familiar with their local schools and will feel comfortable visiting with teachers and being involved with the school once their children are enrolled. Family Foundations will also create family time for those who participate, making it easy for them to have a meal as a family and participate in activities with one another.
Foundations For Parents
Parents are a child's first and most influential teacher. Family Foundations is here to bring families together in a positive, productive environment. When families are connected in a community, the network of support helps reduce parenting stress, boosts mothers' perceptions of themselves and their children, and helps fathers feel more involved. Parents who take part in parent education programs:
- Provide more age-appropriate toys and spend more time reading to their young children.
- Read and talk with their children more frequently.
- Interact with their children in more supportive and effective ways, and feel more confident in their role.
Foundations For Children
Experiences during the first three years are truly the foundation for life long behaviors. Research shows that a child's personality is influenced not only by their genetics but also by their environment. Every lullaby,story, giggle and hug a parent shares with a child lays the groundwork for future talents, abilities and development. Family Foundations can help parents and caregivers provide an environment that their children can thrivein. Children whose families have participated in similar programs:
- have more positive attitudes toward school are better prepared with pre-kindergarten basic skills
- are more confident have more social skills for interacting with other students
- have fewer behavior problems
- are more emotionally mature
For more information about Sioux Empire Family Foundations, please call 367-7963, or click here to receive more information about the dates, times and locations.