Lesson Four: Building Support Systems
Introduction
During lesson four, we will bring together all these skills we have been magnifying and building. We will then apply these skills to build social-emotional connections through family councils. We teach how to apply the family management process in family councils so that you can magnify your family’s strengths and support systems. We will conclude this course by applying what we have learned to the five family protective factors and connecting the importance of resourcefulness to resilience.
Listen to Julies introduces lesson four:
What will you learn from this lesson?
This lesson will cover the following
topics and goals:
Topic: Goal:
|
Family Councils |
Understand how to use family
councils to build emotional and social connections within the family. |
|
Family Management Plan |
Understand how to create and implement a family management plan to
build resilience. |
|
Emotional
and Social Resources |
Understand the how to use and build emotional and social resources. |
|
Five Protective Factors |
Understand how to apply the five protective factors. |
________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 4: Building Support Systems
Family Councils & The Management Process
We start our
lesson this week with a video laying out the family council and learning the
management process. You can fill out the worksheet provided above while watching
the video from Katy and Julie. A cheat sheet for family councils will also be
linked following the video (Davis, 2017). We hope you have a resource sheet
built by the end of the lesson to take with you and build upon.
Lesson Four PPX for Video- LINK
Family
Council Cheat Sheet- LINK
(Resource
Accessed: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/english/blogs/family-councils-cheat-sheet.pdf?lang=eng)
___________________________________________________
Five Protective Factors:
How do you connect the five protective factors to our
lessons?
Before we see how the five factors of strengthening family resilience are applied, let us look at what we learned from each lesson.
- We learned about parental resilience by defining resilience and learning why it is important. Then we learned the basics of the five factors of resilience and parenting styles to guide you in learning how the authoritative approach to parenting yields the best outcomes for adolescent resilience. Our personal way of being is the base of the parenting pyramid reminding parents that resilience starts with each of you! You matter in the life of your child.
- Social connections were discussed when we shared stories about optimism and gratitude while dealing with the challenges of life. Knowing how to have conversation to meet love languages and give effective praise guides build a secure parenting base allowing for healthy social connections. Keeping a mindset of growth will enable your teen to keep trying until they find the right situations. Using the family management process in councils can address the social needs and stress that adolescents experience.
- You learned more about your developing teens and the substantial changes happening to their bodies. Knowing how to coach your child emotionally, physically, and with your positive communications will guide you with knowledge as you help them build their skills of resilience as well.
- Support in times of need starts with the family. When the family is strengthened, and they know how to utilize the resources of their community and social connections, they have support in times of crisis or need. Focusing on the three foundational relationships from the parenting pyramid when there are times of trouble, instead of focusing on teaching and correction first, will have greater impact on relationships of trust and connection, particularly in with the challenges that arise during the adolescent years.
- Finally, the building of social and emotional competence was spread through every lesson, from coaching to speaking their language of love to understanding how mental well-being is affected by the words we say and
Learning Activity:
Below are a series of questions and clips to help you see
how the topics and information gained from this course can support you. This is
one scenario using the five factors for strengthening families' approach.
As you answer the following questions, write down your
thoughts and follow the steps to watch the clips. Pay attention to what you may
already be doing and examine areas where you can strengthen your family.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Using
Factors and What They Are - LINK
Step 3:
Parental
Resilience - 5 Factors LINK
Step 4:
Diana's
Social Connections LINK
Step 5:
Parenting
Skills / Knowledge of Child Development LINK
Step 6:
Access
to Support and Services - LINK
Step 7:
Social
and Emotional Competence of Children LINK
______________________________________________________________________
Building Resources
How does being resourceful build family resilience?
Concrete support in times of need is one of the five
protective factors, and an important element of
this factor is being resourceful (Coffield & Srinivasavaradan, 2021).
Resourcefulness can be learned and involves three parts: self-monitoring,
problem-solving, emotion regulation and self-control (Zauszniewski, 2016). In
lesson three, we learned about the value of mindfulness. Mindfulness is the
ability to monitor and recognize emotions, feelings, and needs for us and those
around us without judgment. This practice creates emotional regulation and
self-control. Resourcefulness also gives us the ability to find creative ways
to solve problems, persist, and work with the resources that are available to
us. Your family’s resourcefulness grows as you practice fostering resilience by
using the skills we have learned through the course and building resources.
Why do friendships build social competency?
Learning how to build friendships involves the three parts of resourcefulness. The following clip shows the importance of friendship in adolescent years. During adolescence, kids experience a shift from family relationships to friendships outside the family (Arnett, 2018).
Adolescent Friendship [Video Clip]
Several changes within adolescent cognitive development bring about their need to expand the field and build that connection. We have learned about changes in attachment and the need for autonomy, but building social and emotional skills involves parents modeling positive relationships with their friends and family members. In lesson one, we discussed the relationships made in the first three levels of parenting skills. The efforts in building a community of friends for parents cultivate resources and create a support network to draw upon when we need to use resilience.
Being involved in adolescence, through active management of friendships from encouragement to disapproval (Arnett), is also seen in parental relationships with adolescents. Encouragement gives parents a greater capacity to connect with their child and their friends. Studies show parenting skills affect adolescent friendship choices (Laird et al., 2008). Building social skills to develop healthy relationships is a topic that could be addressed in an entire four lessons by itself, so we encourage you to learn more. For now, we will apply parental skills to building social competency for adolescents. Friendships have a lasting impact on adolescent social and emotional well-being.
For those teens who are trying hard to navigate social skills, the following six steps from an intervention study (Weissburg, Caplan, & Harwood, 1991) used to improve social connections can guide adolescents when they struggle:
“1: Stop, calm down, think before you act.
2: Go over the problem and say or write down your feelings.
3: Set a positive goal for the outcome of the situation.
4: Think of positive solutions
5: Try to anticipate the consequences of the possible solutions.
6: Choose the best solution and try it out.” (Arnett)
You may recognize similar steps of identifying feelings (emotion coaching) and finding solutions through goals and outcomes like the management process. These steps promote the three parts of resourcefulness: being able to monitor ourselves within friendship, developing problem-solving skills, and promoting self-control and emotional regulation.
Community
and Professional Resources:
[Image Accessed: https://www.merlin-works.com/2013/06/03/join-a-class-join-a-community/]
While learning
about the family council, we mentioned instances where parents may need
additional community or professional resources. These needs may range from getting
kids involved in sports and extracurricular activities to meeting greater
needs. Resources are available in many forms.
Creating a
community of people to support your family is part of building your resources. Research shows families with social and community support lead
happier and more fulfilling lives (Edwards et al., 2018). Knowing your
neighbors and having supportive adults in your kids’ lives help families
navigate challenges. Research shows adolescent resilience is more likely in stable homes
where community and friendships can be built (DuMont et al., 2007). Neighbors
are great to go to in an emergency or to borrow a cup of flour.
Other parents
who have experienced similar challenges may have access to resources in your
community. You will be able to know your local and state community offerings. A
quick Google search will help you find community education programs in your
area.
Your child’s
doctor or pediatrician can also be a valuable connection for resources to help
your adolescent thrive. In lesson three, we talked about reaching out to
professionals as needed for great mental health needs. Pyschologytoday.com is a valuable resource with a national database for
finding therapists, psychologists, testing, and other mental health resources.
They also have science and research-driven articles for mental health needs.
We have put together a list of resources for your family!
Please enjoy this gift from us to your families. This document gives additional
resources from our lesson topics and ways to gather resources and knowledge to
build your family resilience.
Magnify
Family Resilience Resources - LINK
We would love to hear from you! If there are resources in your area that would be beneficial, please share with us by commenting below, emailing us at magnifyfamilyresilience@gmail.com, or on our Facebook page, Magnifying Family Resilience.
__________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
Let's review lesson 4!
You learned in a video from Julie and Katy about the four types of family councils, the benefits of family councils, and how to implement the management process in family councils to build our resources to strengthen family resilience. You applied the five protective factors by completing an activity where we viewed video clips and analyzed how to apply the skills we have learned to each factor. You learned the importance of being resourceful and building resources, this included the importance of friendship in the adolescent years. As parents, you can support the building of those friendships, help improve social connections, and build social competency in struggling teens. Building support resources starts with your family and then continues with each circle of influence in our lives. Our neighbors and communities can be great support systems.
Thank You!
A big shout out goes to each of you for taking time to support the efforts of two students seeking to bring unity to the world one family at a time, one person at a time. Your contributions to the world matter to so many people, but especially your families. We want to thank you for giving us the valuable support to make our journey to become better advocates for the family a reality. You made a difference to us.
THANK YOU!!
What we hope you take away:
Resilience is built over time and with consistent effort! Continue to focus on the strengths of your family, looking for areas where you can grow. We hope this course has magnified and strengthened your families, as creating this course strengthened our families! We would love to hear from you.
__________________________________________________
We Need Your Feedback:
As
part of our success in this course, your feedback is essential for improvement,
further studies for each writer, and implementation of teaching skills and
practices. Please take a moment to fill out the assessment form below. We’ve
created a Google Form to simplify participation for each person accessing these
lessons. We value you and your support and efforts! The feedback deadline for
workshop assessment is Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The creators can still
view feedback and it is most welcome!
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