Free Essay: Child Development and Family Challenges

Family type

As children grow and develop, they stay under the care of the different type of families. These families include single parent, blended and foster family. Single parent family consists of a single parent bringing up a child or children on his own. Blended family comes up when the married couples have children from the previous relationship, but they come together as a single unit to raise children. Foster family provide guardianship for the children with parents who either dead or not in a position to raise them.

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Family challenges

In family portraits, there are problems that face families. There are two major and common challenges that face families, divorce and finding the right child-care (Woolfolk, 439). A divorce is usually an event that is accompanied by stress to the concerned parties and children. Despite the stressful process involved in the divorce process, the aftermath is better since children develop better outside a conflict-filled relationship. To find a right child-care for children is not an easy task. Nonparental care has become common for a while now. There have been arrangements for a child-care center that does not involve relatives of the children. In some situations, school-age children care for themselves. Despite the difficulty in finding the best child-care for your child, there are child-care centers that provide quality service but that are costly. This makes it difficult for parents earning little above the poverty level but they can opt for children self-care.

Challenges faced by children and parents

Children face challenges under a different type of families. Children under a single family face risk of dropping out of school to become parents at their young age. This can be caused by lack of appropriate income to support the child. Financial strains cause stress to a single parent. In a blended family, it can be difficult for children to get used to their new rules and environment that come along with the new engagement of the parents. Children with a foster family may have a challenge of adapting to their new environment (Woolfolk, 438) Adjusting to a new learning environment and behavior change is a common challenge. They generally encounter learning disability.

Childcare professionals and educators support

All the above challenges can be minimized with the help of childcare professionals and educators. Parents are taught the best ways to raise children in different situations families. Parents are encouraged to learn about previous family history in the case adoptive family for them understand the child well. Educators also help the parents and children understand who they are so that they can accept themselves in the different situations they can be.

Communities' role

Community plays a role in building a sense of belonging in children. When students participate in societal activities, they become socially responsible. Community helps children to be competent and self-reliant by engaging and disengaging at different levels in school.

Work cited

Woolfolk, Anita, and Nancy E. Perry. Child and Adolescent Development: Pearson New International Edition. Pearson Higher Ed, 2013.