what does facilitating parenting style mean
Asked by Anonymous
Facilitator is a label used in Child Development and Education books and classes that describes a care-giver and/or parent’s style of teaching. There are several labels but the two most discussed, at least in my experience, is the facilitator vs. the authoritative figure.
A facilitative parent or care-giver is one who allows for the child(children) to interact and play authentically within a safe environment, while modeling desired behaviors thereby guiding the child to make positive choices.
For example: Little Bear and I went to the beach the other day, in January. The ocean water was very cold, the breeze was steady, but Little Bear was determined to get into the water.
Now, I knew the water would be cold, and she did too because we discussed it before-hand; and I had two choices. I could decide that getting wet and cold was not worth this adventure in curiosity or I could let her have a safe experience that she wanted. I allowed her to get into the water. She swam in three feet of water and waded in the surf. I stayed near her to insure her safety, so that she didn’t get caught in the undertow or something. I monitored, loosely, how cold she was by examining the color of her fingers. She played freely within a safe environment, or relatively safe environment, and I made sure to remind her how much water time she had left: “10 more minutes. Five more minutes. Two more minutes.”
When her water time was over she didn’t argue about it but instead told me that she needed new clothes on, which we always carry just-in-case. I asked her “how can we change your clothes?” to foster her self-care techniques. “We can get my new clothes out of the bag and then go to that bathroom” she told me. I asked her questions like: “do you need a towel?”, “how can we get the sand off?”, “are you feeling cold, cool, warm, or hot?”, and “what can you wear to make you feel warm?”.
Facilitative style:
- allows the child to make their own decisions within reason and in a safe environment.
- fosters child’s ability to self-care, self-regulate, and use self-management techniques.
- promotes positive self-esteem
- Guides and models desired behaviors rather than demanding obedience.
- Gives child opportunities to express their curiosity.
- Fosters positive social interactions.