Which of the 6 GGK Home Visitor Competencies are you focused on growing this month? The best way to master the many skills required of Home Visitors is to focus on growing one small skill set each month. Several Home Visitors have expressed an interest in developing their competency around incorporating cultural practices into home visits. So this week, we are offering up some tips that might help you build skills in this area. For this competency what we are looking at is incorporating cultural practices in ways that will solidify the family’s identity and enrich their parenting.
It’s important that you take time to gain an in-depth understanding of each parent’s cultural identifications, values and practices. Assuming that all parents from a particular cultural group have the same values and practices can result in interactions on your part that family members may perceive of as offensive or disrespectful. Many factors enter into one’s identity and the values they practice, such as: their country of origin, age, religion, job, community or geographic region, religion or sexual orientation.
When visiting a multi-generational family, including the elders in your conversations about traditions and culture will enhance your understanding and enrich their experience as a family. With your Growing Great Families modules, you can explore the family’s stories, rituals, beliefs, food, traditional relationships and much more. How often do you facilitate the following 2014 Growing Great Families Modules to gain this important family information and to increase the awareness of parents in the process of “making a new family”?
Unit 1: Family Traditions & Cultural Practices
Unit 3: Memories & Family Stories
Remember that we always bring our own cultural practices and beliefs to this work. It might help you to complete the worksheets for the above GGF modules with your own family. It could open your eyes to how your own cultural beliefs, values and practices may influence or interface with those of the families you are visiting.
As always, have a great week and feel free to email any topic suggestions or questions to danabroadway@greatkidsinc.net . Be sure to add Great Vine ideas to the subject line of the email.
