Comments on: True Confessions: Checking My Biases with Family Centered Practices

By: bailee

bailee — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 03:43:12 +0000

As a student learning about ECI and the role of service coordinators, this post was very helpful. I think it is very important that service coordinators remain unbiased as they help to serve this families. It can be easy for our own opinions to guide our decisions, but what is most important is to assure that we are meeting the families needs, not our own. It is very important that all service coordinators try their best to uphold the families wishes.

By: Tracy Hoang

Tracy Hoang — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 16:53:16 +0000

Although we are taught the best practices to ensure that the child has the best developmental outcome, I would remind myself that all parents start somewhere and there is a large learning curve when raising children, especially when each child is unique. I would honor and respect the family’s choices as long as the child is not in harm’s way. Being able to compartmentalize is important in this profession because extending this mindset that each child that we encounter would be better in another circumstance could lead to burnout extremely fast. Just try to remember that every family is unique and has different routines in place on how they think their child should be raised.

By: my

my — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 04:35:56 +0000

I think I would go about it by reminding myself that there are multiple solutions to every problem. Things tend not to be black or white, and I understand that sometimes even if I feel strongly about something, doesn’t mean someone else has to too. It’s also good that I understand each culture is different and that some things are more urgent in them.

By: Ariel Head

Ariel Head — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 03:33:25 +0000

I constantly remind myself that as long as the child is not in danger from a practice or the practice isn’t a concern for the parents, it does not need to take up much space in my mind. Cultural competency is an incredibly important part of being a good early interventionist and recognizing that different cultures have different practices with child rearing is essential. Not all cultures have the same time line for transitioning away from breast milk towards solids, toilet training, independent sleeping, etc.. As long as the family’s current practices don’t pose a safety risk to the child, I try not to judge (despite the research I’ve studied begging me to do so). There is no one-size-fits-all approach to child rearing, and taking a step back to check the biases we have based on our education and personal culture/up-bringing can only make us better service providers.

By: Yesica Pineda

Yesica Pineda — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 02:35:08 +0000

I agree that listening is very important in all aspects of our learning. Listening will help us understand what families need and their reasoning to why they choose to do or focus on certain things for their own children. We must understand that we are all different and we all share different beliefs. It is in the code of ethics that we must not give our personal opinion to the families. That is because we are respecting their beliefs and culture. Therefore if you find yourself judging or criticizing about certain people it is important that we check ourselves and remind ourselves that it is not okay to do that. We all come from different backgrounds and we all have different privileges. There is nothing wrong with checking others and ourselves. After that it would be a habit and you will find yourself learning how to address and view different situations. The thing is to recognize and practice it.

By: Rebecca Lindamood

Rebecca Lindamood — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 01:45:26 +0000

How do you honor families in your work who make choices that conflict with what you know to be true?
Family dynamics are complex and as the article said “pick your battles”. If the child is not in harms way, then let the parent carry their 4 year-old through target and the 3-year suck on the passi. Each parent has a reason for why they allow a certain behavior. It made be cultural, the lack of time in the day to break a habit or maybe they are just in a hurry and carrying the child just makes the most sense. As long as the child is developing well in other areas, one action that goes against the textbooks won’t kill them. We are all human and need to extend compassion to parents because they are just doing the best with what they have.

By: Emily Phillips

Emily Phillips — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:36:15 +0000

It can be very difficult to handle situations in which you disagree with choices being made. I think that as a service provider one would have to be able to compartmentalize their own beliefs from their work. Respect is the basis for all good relationships, work included. Allowing each family to make choices that are important to them or think that are beneficial to them has to come from a place of knowing that every situation can be handled a million different ways and have a million different outcomes there isn’t just one right way.

By: Natalia Martinez

Natalia Martinez — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 21:36:32 +0000

While I am a student and not a service coordinator yet, I believe that arguably one the most important aspects of this job is to be socially/culturally competent and aware of the different between familial practices in order to best understand and respect each family’s decisions. Unless it is directly endangering or harming the child physically/mentally, we must consider that certain practices differ based on culture, beliefs, etc. While there are surely many practices that are backed by science as being beneficial for all children, this does not mean they are the only ones that work for each family and their child. As a service coordinator, I would ensure that I always keep this in mind and check my biases before addressing something like this with a family, as it may just be something that I was not previously familiar with.

By: Joey E Lopez

Joey E Lopez — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 19:23:26 +0000

I believe that some of the best ways to honor families who make choices that conflict with our own beliefs and ways of thinking is by listening and keeping an open mind, which I know is easier said than done. I also struggle with keeping my mind free of biases but by talking to the family and understanding their way of implementing a certain parenting decision, it eliminates most of the judgment and confusion. Keeping up to date with new research and recommended practices from different cultures will also aid in honoring families that parent differently than you would.

By: Amy Nguyen

Amy Nguyen — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 03:43:01 +0000

If I was a service coordinator, I would honor my family in my work who make choices that conflict with what I know to be true by simply being open-minded and having respect for them. Being available and open to their choices and beliefs can help me become a more effective service coordinator.