Family strengths

Engage families with an intentional, productive, and constructive approach in the context of their support systems, programs, and communities. Recognize, utilize, and enhance families' strengths and promote positive outcomes by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and providing support to build families’ unique strengths and key protective factors.

It is important to recognize the many types of family strengths, including: adaptability, cohesion, humor, willingness to try, and networks of support. Strengths can be found in all areas of family life, including family interests and activities; extended family and friends; religious, spiritual, or cultural beliefs; family values and rules; employment and education; emotional or psychological well-being; physical health and nutrition; shelter and safety; income or money; and family interaction.

key protective factors (based on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework)

• Parental resilience: Managing stress and functioning well when faced with challenges, adversity and trauma
• Social connections: Positive relationships that provide emotional, informational, instrumental and spiritual support
• Knowledge of parenting and child development: Understanding child development and parenting strategies that support physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional development
• Concrete support in times of need: Access to concrete support and services that address a family’s needs and help minimize stress caused by challenges
• Social and emotional competence of children: Family and child interactions that help children develop the ability to communicate clearly, recognize and regulate their emotions and establish and maintain relationships

See Protective Factors Framework from the Center for the Study of Social Policy and HOPE: Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences. Pediatric health care professionals often combine this topic with early literacy promotion when discussing with families and offer books that foster family strengths.

Use a previsit questionnaire that specifically asks about patient/family interests and concerns such as the questionnaires in the Bright Futures Tool Resource Kit, 2nd Edition, available for review and reference.