(Unit 4) Topic 3: Family and Community Partnerships

3 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Supporting Families

Topic 3 Page 10

A family is a child's primary educator, they know the child the best. Children learn so many things just by observing and imitating people that it is impossible for them not to learn from those whom they spend time with. Besides learning skills and specific knowledge, a child learns/naturally picks up the values and attitudes expressed by their family. Families lay the groundwork for all future learning. Child care professionals can support this by listening to families, offering observations/input when asked, offering resources to families, encouraging (without belittling) the family's approach, and following the family's requests/instructions (as much as is possible) regarding how to deal with things like potty training and behavior issues.