Strategies for Effective Partnership with Mothers: Balancing Work, Family, and Child Rearing

The Complexity of a Mother's Role

The role of a Mother is so big and important that it is almost impossible to cover in a hundred pages book! There are so many tasks, skills, and responsibilities that mothers perform daily. However, attitudes towards mothers have historically been complex and have contributed to feelings of guilt. It is not easy to raise children when there are so many other things involved in the process such as balance of work, studies, and family life. Very often the lack of support and resources negatively impact their performance at work and relationship with family members which might lead to burnout and stress. Through this research of peer-reviewed articles we will try to identify the strategies that could contribute to effective partnership with Mothers we work with. To begin with, Mothers in every society play an initiator’s role in the child’s learning and character building journey. It is the mother who makes it possible for the child to attain best in his or her life in every aspect. Mothers have always faced difficulties and hardships in childrearing and maintaining work-life balance which can result in culpability and guiltiness. The reason behind this guilt is the society’s perspective of the mothers as super moms or jack of all. The society and the family expects a lot from the woman, and there’s no loop for any negligence when it comes to child rearing, taking care of the family needs and achieving professional goals. While maintaining and balancing between family and professio, mothers often get distressed and feel failed to provide the best to their children which affects their personal health, family, professional relations and children’s development. “Full-time working moms are also more likely than mothers who are employed part time or not employed to say they spend too little time with their children and to say they don’t have enough time away from their children to get together with friends or pursue hobbies or interests. And among those who are married or cohabiting, mothers who work full time are more likely than other moms to say they spend too little time with their partners”. (Center, 2015). Physical and mental health of Mothers directly influence their children, unhappy mothers make unhappy children. That is why the people in the household and society need to understand the pressure and stress upon the mother and support her. Individuals have different perspectives about spousal obligations to their children, especially in families where both parents have career engagements to attend to daily. Still, parental support is essential in the brain development of a child, making them ready for competence, learning, coping and emotional growth (Wilson, 2014). Family roles are perceived differently among various people. Thus, early child educators need to ensure they differentiate their own perspectives from other people’s views or actions about the same. We understand that Mothers who are actively involved in a child's social life are more likely to positively influence the social-emotional development and well-being of their child. A Parent-Educator relationship is an important factor that affects a child's well-being. Children benefit when parents and caregivers both share commitment to acting in their best interest. If the caregiver clearly explains the rules and expectations; the daily routine; and other child’s rearing practices to the parent it will minimize the misunderstanding, confusion, and conflict. Mothers with different cultural backgrounds and languages require special attention and consideration. According to K. Chandler, “Different cultures have unique ways of viewing the world, preferred ways of social organization, and unique language patterns, learning styles, and concepts of acceptable behavior. To help make the program more familiar and meaningful to the child, whenever possible caregivers should incorporate practices from the child’s home into the early childhood environment.” (Chandler,2015, p.13). Caregivers can involve Mothers into partnership by providing newsletters; posting information on the parent board; sending emails; involve Mothers as volunteers; or simply by open conversation at the drop off/pick up times. Caregivers must treat every Mother with respect and keep in mind that every Mother’s situation is unique and requires an individual approach. As educators and mothers ourselves we can fully understand the dilemma of the society and the mothers hardships. We would plan the strategies according to the individual family’s needs to ease the burden off the parents especially the mothers in order to support their children’s well-being and early development. We would encourage Mother’s victories and achievements in their difficult journey free of judgement and biases. We would recognize the Mother’s everyday struggles in keeping her children safe and happy by keeping the children aware of it, discussing it in the group from time to time, to make the children realize a parent’s exertions and efforts. We would always be reachable and accessible to mothers if they need any help and support anytime. By knowing, the source is there to support can make the difficult journey easy and pleasant. Educators should be aware of their personal perspectives about family roles in childhood education because they interact with families from different backgrounds and cultures. According to Wilson (2014), culture or place of birth influences gender roles in the family. Besides, some economic family issues can influence which parent actively interacts with teachers about a child at school (Pitt-Catsouphes et al., 2015). An example is when one parent is employed and the other is not, obligations fall on the shoulders on the less engaged. Some religious beliefs also inspire some parents to engage with teachers more frequently. Primarily, gender roles are changing, especially for the women. The fact that almost every part of the world has more than a single cultural group makes it necessary to beware of personal family roles in childhood education. BASED ON THE ABOVE READING , "OW TO ORGANIZE ITOnce all the research has been collected from part A, students should have more information than they can use. Students should consider what is most important and prioritize the material. WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDEDThe material presented must relate to your family group (mother, father, sibling, grandparent), that you are highlighting. The tone should be non-lecturing, positive, and encouraging, remembering that our focus is in partnering with families. It should reflect a bias-free approach. In addition to the basic content, students should also include:?community resources/agencies/associations with their addresses and telephone numbers?a list of videos/DVDs for parents/children?a list of books for children adults (list only the title and author)?Any other relevant information"