Respond to a peer who included different strategies than you did for fostering inclusion of diverse family structures. Explain how you could implement one of the strategies they suggested to help a child feel supported when their family structure is different than their peers’. In addition, describe one step that you could implement in the classroom to help a child feel supported. (MY DISCUSSION IS ATTACHED SO YOU COULD SEE WHAT STRATEGIES IS DIFFERENT FROM THEIRS.)

Compare and contrast the family structures or dynamics shared in the two articles you read.

The dynamics in the two articles are vastly different in the fact that one is about same-sex marriages, and the other is about children visiting overnight with their father after their parents have been divorced. The dynamics are very different for the same-sex families than it would be for the divorced families in the fact that they have been recently “accepted” within society. There are a lot of divorced families in this country nowadays, so it seems to be the “norm”. According to our textbook, Children & Families: Understanding Behavior & Dynamics, “Several factors have been found to increase the likelihood of divorce, including low income, having a baby before marriage, marrying young (at 18–25 years of age), growing up in a divorced family, having no religious affiliation, and being a high school dropout” (Wardle & Fitzpatrick 2016). So a divorced family is something that a lot of children in this country live through.

Explain how you will utilize the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct to provide a foundation for working with the diverse family structures in the two articles you read.

I will utilize the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct by making sure that no children are harmed, and that I am giving my all to the children I am teaching. It is important to get to know the backgrounds of the families you are working with, so you know how to approach certain situations and so that you are culturally sensitive.

Discuss at least two strategies that you will use to foster inclusion of all diverse family structures, so that all children will feel supported, regardless of their family configuration.

One of the strategies that I will use in my classroom to promote inclusion of all family structures would be to have materials like books and posters that show different types of families. I actually have a lesbian family in my classroom right now, and we as a team make the family feel as comfortable as possible, and I have a great relationship with both of the moms and their little girl. They are never afraid to ask questions, or address any concerns, which I feel is great. Then another strategy would be to talk about different family structures and talk about how there are all types of families in this world. Children are very receptive, and they do understand when you explain things to them. According to Kassondra Granata, a writer for Education World, “work family diversity into everyday discussion and activities without belaboring it” (2014). In other words, don’t put too much emphasis on it, you don’t want to make certain children feel singled out.

Resources

Granata, K. (2014). Welcoming Family Diversity in the Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/welcoming-diverse-family-structures.shtml (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Wardle, F., & Fitzpatrick, T. (2016). Children & families: Understanding behavior & dynamics [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/