3.1 Introduction

Families are the cornerstone of our communities, providing love, support, and a sense of belonging. They are the first teachers, caretakers, and social experiences that shape the lives of children and contribute to the overall well-being of society. Today’s families face increasing challenges, including economic hardship, societal pressures, and personal struggles.

This chapter explores the crucial role of families in society and examines the factors that contribute to their strength and resilience. We will delve into the challenges families encounter and learn about strategies for strengthening families and providing support. By understanding the importance of diverse families and applying effective strategies, we can create a more supportive and nurturing environment for everyone.

3.2 Strengthening Families

Families face a multitude of stressors that can significantly impact their well-being. By understanding these stressors and implementing effective coping strategies, families can build resilience, strengthen their bonds, and navigate challenges with greater ease.

Scenario

Brian and Melinda have two boys, ages 3 and 5. Brian recently lost his job, and the benefits included. Melinda picked up more hours at work. Melinda is tired when she gets home and has put off some of the things she used to do, like helping give the boys a bath and reading a bedtime story. Brian is on edge and worried about how he and Melinda will take care of the family. He feels guilty for putting extra stress on his wife’s already full plate. They have had to pull the children out of childcare because it is an expense they can’t afford. Brian is home with the boys all day while Melinda is working long days to make ends meet. Melinda worries that if Brian does find a new job, they will have lost their spot at the childcare center that took over a year to get. Brian fears they will lose their house if he doesn’t find work soon that can cover their monthly bills. Their relationship is on edge, and it is starting to affect the boys. The boys are more anxious and clingier. They miss the routine of going to childcare and playing with friends.

 

It is essential to provide families with the support, resources, and tools they need to thrive. By fostering a supportive environment and promoting healthy family dynamics, we can help families overcome adversity and create a brighter future for all. This scenario presents a complex web of stressors that can have a significant impact on the family’s emotional well-being and overall health.

Stressors Affecting Families

Families with young children often face unique stressors that can significantly impact their overall well-being. These stressors can stem from various sources, including the demands of caregiving, financial pressures, balancing work and family responsibilities, and the emotional and physical needs of young children. Other challenges might include navigating childcare options, managing sleep deprivation, dealing with behavioral or developmental concerns, and adjusting to new family dynamics, especially in cases of single-parent households, blended families, or those without nearby support systems. Additionally, life events such as illness, job changes, or moves can amplify stress for these families.

Understanding that each family’s experiences and stressors are unique is essential, as personal circumstances, cultural backgrounds, and available support can all influence how stress is experienced and managed. Table 3a below outlines several common stressors affecting families with young children, but it’s important to recognize that the specific challenges and resilience strategies of each family may vary.

Stress is a common experience for families, and it can sometimes become overwhelming, impacting both caregivers and children. However, certain factors can help protect families from the negative impacts of stress, such as strong social support networks, access to mental health resources, consistent routines, and open communication. These factors can foster resilience, allowing families to manage stress more effectively and maintain a stable, nurturing environment.

3.3 Protective Factors

Protective factors are characteristics or strengths of individuals, families, communities, or societies that act to lessen risks and promote positive well-being and healthy development. Most often, we see them as attributes that help families to successfully navigate difficult situations.

Strengthening Families™ is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect (Kumpfer, 2025). It is based on engaging families, programs, and communities in building the five key protective factors. You will learn more about the five protective factors as you navigate the Strengthening Families Training, which is part of the Family and Community Relationships course curriculum in the Wisconsin Technical College’s Early Childhood Degree. You can find out more information at Supporting Families Together Association.

Risk factors are predictive of potential challenges or adverse outcomes, but their impact can be significantly lessened when protective factors are in place (Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, n.d.). When these protective elements are present, families and children are often better equipped to navigate stress and adversity, reducing the likelihood that risk factors will lead to negative outcomes. In this way, protective factors play a vital role in fostering resilience and promoting healthy development, even in the presence of risk.

Resilience is a key factor in protecting families against stress, and there are several effective ways to foster resilience within families. One essential approach is to cultivate a positive mindset by encouraging a hopeful outlook and focusing on the positive aspects of life. Developing problem-solving skills is also critical; teaching family members to identify challenges, brainstorm solutions, and implement strategies can empower them to handle adversity. Additionally, fostering adaptability helps families embrace change and adjust to new situations while maintaining routines and rituals with flexibility. Building a sense of purpose within the family by supporting meaningful activities and goals can further strengthen resilience. Practicing self-care is equally important, as healthy habits like exercise, nutrition, and sleep contribute to overall well-being. Finally, creating an atmosphere of hope can have a profound impact. This includes helping family members manage feelings of blame, shame, or guilt and encouraging them to connect with supportive resources like community or religious organizations. By reflecting on how they have grown stronger through challenges, families can build resilience and find greater stability in difficult times.

Figure 3b illustrates simple, daily practices that can enhance the protective factors within families. These actions include nurturing positive relationships, providing social and emotional support, establishing routines, encouraging open communication, and connecting families to resources. By integrating these supportive actions into daily interactions, caregivers can build resilience in both families and their children, helping all thrive even in the face of challenges.

3.4 Strength-Based Approach

Strengthening families is grounded in a strength-based approach to families. That means we start from the understanding that all families have strengths, and all families need support. A strength-based approach focuses on identifying, valuing, and building upon each family’s unique strengths, resources, and capabilities. Instead of centering on deficits or challenges, this approach emphasizes the positive qualities and resilience that families already possess. It involves recognizing and supporting their existing skills, cultural values, and goals, empowering them to achieve growth and overcome obstacles. By fostering collaboration and respecting each family’s inherent strengths, this approach helps to create supportive, trusting relationships that promote family well-being.

It might be hard sometimes to identify some families’ strengths, especially if their circumstances or cultures are very different from our own. When we encounter families who are facing challenges (in various ways), looking for their strengths can be challenging but crucial to provide support. However, a conversation that starts from strengths is much more respectful and more likely to result in a productive relationship.

Take a look at the image in the activity below. What do you notice? It is easy to see the problems and limitations. Now look again with a strengths-based approach. What positive factors do you see? When we recognize what families know and do, we can use that to support the child’s well-being.

Key Principles of a Strength-Based Approach

A strength-based approach to working with families centers on fostering positive, supportive relationships that recognize and amplify the unique strengths of each family. This approach emphasizes four key principles:

• Focus on strengths: Rather than dwelling on problems or deficits, the focus is on identifying and building upon the family’s strengths.
• Collaboration: The relationship between the professional and the family is one of collaboration, with the family as the expert on their own lives.
• Empowerment: The goal is to empower families to take ownership of their situation and make informed decisions.
• Hope: A positive and hopeful outlook is maintained, even in the face of challenges.

Strategies for Implementing a Strength-based Approach

Implementing a strength-based approach with families involves practical strategies that build trust, encourage open communication, and highlight each family’s unique abilities. These strategies are as follows:

• Active listening: Pay close attention to what families are saying and show genuine interest in their experiences.
• Open-ended questions: Ask questions that encourage families to share their thoughts and feelings.
• Affirmations: Acknowledge and appreciate the family’s strengths and efforts.
• Goal setting: Work collaboratively with families to set achievable and meaningful goals.
• Resource identification: Help families identify and access resources that can support their goals.
• Building resilience: Teach families coping skills and strategies for building resilience.

Benefits of a Strength-based Approach

A strength-based approach offers numerous benefits for both families and professionals. One of the primary advantages is increased family engagement. Families are more likely to be involved and motivated when their strengths are recognized. Other benefits include the following:

• Improved outcomes: Studies have shown that strength-based approaches can lead to better outcomes for families.
• Enhanced professional satisfaction: Working with families in a strengths-based manner can be rewarding and fulfilling.

By adopting a strength-based approach, professionals can help families develop a sense of hope, agency, and resilience.

3.5 Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)

We all experience stress at every age. We experience many situations that frustrate or worry us, and most of the time we have the support and skills to handle them. Sometimes, the stress we experience is so intense—or goes on for so long—that it overwhelms our ability to cope. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, trauma is the impact felt from high levels of toxic stress. We may feel toxic stress when we face strong, frequent, or prolonged challenges. Challenges can include abuse, neglect, violence, or substance use in the home. These experiences can trigger our body’s stress response. This response floods our body with “fight or flight” chemicals. The toxic stress caused by childhood trauma can be harmful. It may damage or delay the healthy development of a child’s body and brain. This can leave them vulnerable to chronic health problems, risky behaviors, and mental illness as adults. To learn more about how trauma affects long-term health, review the CDC’s website about Adverse Childhood Experiences. Harvard University has also created a helpful infographic with a Frequently Asked Questions page.

All families experience trauma and toxic stress differently. Some factors such as a child’s age or the family’s culture or ethnicity may influence how the family copes and recovers from challenges. While this adjustment may be smooth for some, for others the stress and burden cause them to feel alone, overwhelmed, and less able to maintain vital family functions. Traumas can cause traumatic stress responses in family members with consequences that ripple through family relationships and impede optimal family functioning. Family members may have different reactions to the same traumatic event. Reactions will differ depending on each family member’s age, developmental level, and trauma history, as well as their relationship with the child and personal exposure to the event. For example, one family member may have shared the child’s experience, another may have witnessed it, and another may have heard about it after the fact. While all family members may be upset, only some will have traumatic stress reactions, and each will take a different amount of time to recover from the experience.

Trauma’s Effect on Families

Trauma significantly alters families as they work to survive and adapt to their changing circumstances and environment. Research shows that trauma can have a broad range of effects, impacting not only individual family members but also their relationships with one another and the overall functioning of the family unit. These effects can manifest in various ways, including emotional, psychological, and physical responses, as well as shifts in family dynamics. The stress of trauma often challenges families’ ability to cope effectively, yet many families demonstrate resilience through adaptation, seeking support, and working toward healing and recovery. Understanding these impacts is crucial in providing effective support and interventions to help families rebuild and thrive.

Research demonstrates that trauma has a range of impacts on individual family members, their relationships with each other, and overall family functioning.

Individuals can experience a range of reactions to a traumatic event. Initial distress is likely. Subsequent responses range from resilience to thriving, or, on the other end of the spectrum, short-term to chronic physical health concerns (e.g., headaches, sleep problems, digestion problems, high blood pressure) or mental health problems (e.g., acute stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression). In both children and adults, these symptoms can inhibit developmental growth and cascade into changing the course of one’s life.

The adult intimate relationships in a family can be a source of strength in coping with a traumatic experience and its aftermath, but when coping resources are stretched too thin and the stress is too high, partners can have problems communicating, managing emotions, and remaining close, which increases the chances for separation or even interpersonal violence.

Trauma’s Effect on Family Relationships

Trauma disrupts family relationships by changing how family members interact, communicate, and support each other. It can affect trust, emotional connection, and roles within the family, causing shifts in responsibilities or dynamics. Trauma often worsens existing challenges, like unresolved conflicts or limited coping skills, making it harder for families to stay connected. Over time, these changes can weaken the bonds that usually bring comfort and stability to the family.

The parent-child relationship is vital to the child’s development and recovery. Parents’ protection, nurturance, and guidance speed recovery and support their children’s coping in the face of trauma. When parents are not available or are struggling with their own reactions or behavioral and/or physical health problems, they may have trouble staying attuned with their children’s reactions and responses to the traumatic experience, leading to changes in parenting behaviors.

Sibling relationships are important sources of companionship, comfort, daily support, and family connection, especially when living under stressful conditions or impacted by trauma. When the stress and burden of such changes are too heavy, sibling relationships can become over-taxed, and typical developmental rivalries can turn into more intense conflicts or feelings of rejection.

Extended family and kinship relationships can offer day-to-day assistance, as well as the emotional support needed to recover from trauma. Families separated from their extended kin often develop a new “kinship” network close to where they are.

The family provides resources to meet the basic needs (safety, love, food, shelter, health, education, etc.) of each of its members and supports the family’s well-being and day-to-day functioning. Traumatic circumstances often drain families of resources, such as time, money, and energy, interfering with growing, learning, and working. The burdens often associated with trauma (e.g., costly court proceedings, moving to a new home, changing schools, etc.) result in cascading effects such as loss of income, as well as the time to spend with family and friends. When trauma limits access to needed resources and social support, families have difficulty carrying out daily routines and sustaining important traditions that bind them together. Facing significant risks, including limited resources, compromises families’ abilities to adapt and to gain a sense of safety, stability, and well-being.

Risk Factors Contributing to Family Instability

The following factors increase the likelihood of challenges in maintaining stable family dynamics, often impacting mental health, relationships, and the overall well-being of family members.

• Prior individual or family psychiatric history
• History of previous traumas or adverse childhood experiences
• Increasing life stressors
• Severity/chronicity of traumatic experiences
• Conflictual or violent family interactions
• Social isolation

By addressing these risk factors with appropriate interventions, such as therapy, community support, or trauma-informed care, families can improve resilience and stability.

Providers’ Support for Families Affected by Trauma

Growing awareness of trauma’s impact on families—including the important roles families play in helping children recover—highlights the importance of putting families at the center of trauma services. Talking, laughing, sharing memories and feelings, as well as working together to solve problems, manage stress, and plan for each day and the future, are necessary for resilience and recovery from traumatic stress. If families experience numerous or ongoing traumas, resources diminish and the “wear-and-tear” effect on the health and well-being may call for family-informed trauma services, in addition to resources for recovery and ongoing healing. Providers who actively engage primary, biological, extended, kinship, birth, and foster families and work with professionals in other child- and family-serving systems are better partners in the delivery of family-centered, trauma-informed services (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2011).

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a framework that recognizes the prevalence of trauma in early childhood and emphasizes creating a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment for children and families. Early childhood education professionals who adopt a TIC approach understand how trauma can impact children’s development, behavior and the family’s ability to cope with everyday life events. TIC emphasizes creating a safe, supportive, and predictable environment that promotes healing and resilience by being mindful of potential triggers, providing emotional support, and fostering a sense of safety. Early childhood professionals can create a positive and empowering learning experience for all children and their families, regardless of their past experiences.

3.6 Conclusion

In conclusion, this chapter has explored the critical role of families in fostering healthy development and resilience in children. By understanding the factors that can protect families against stress and identifying effective strategies to support them, we can contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities.

The Strengthening Families Training provides a valuable framework for analyzing and addressing family needs. By focusing on protective factors such as parental involvement, positive relationships, and family routines, we can empower families to build resilience and navigate challenges.

Strength-based approaches and trauma-informed care are essential tools for working with families. By focusing on their strengths and addressing the impact of trauma, we can create supportive environments that promote healing and growth.

By implementing evidence-based strategies and fostering collaboration between families, communities, and professionals, we can work towards strengthening families and creating a brighter future for children.

Learning Activities

3.7 References

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (n.d.). Family resilience and traumatic stress: Guide for mental health providers. https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//family_resilience_and_traumatic_stress_providers.pdf

Center on the Developing Child. (2018). ACEs and toxic stress: Frequently asked questions. Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/infographics/aces-and-toxic-stress-frequently-asked-questions/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

Children’s Trust Fund Alliance. (n.d.). Protective factors. https://ctfalliance.org/protective-factors

Kumpfer, K. (2025). About. Strengthening Families Program. https://strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org/

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2011). Trauma and families: Fact sheet for providers. https://www.nctsn.org/resources/trauma-and-families-fact-sheet-providers

Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (n.d.). Types of trauma and toxic stress. https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/resilient/trauma-toxic-stress.htm#:~:text=Types%20of%20trauma,to%20better%20recovery%20and%20support

Images and Videos:

Figure 3a: AiTubo. (2025). Flux (v1.0) [Artificial intelligence system]. https://app.aitubo.ai/

Figure 3b: “Everyday Actions That Help Build Protective Factors” by Norma Reynolds for the National Alliance of Children’s Trust & Prevention Funds. Reused with permission. All rights reserved.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2015, April 22). InBrief: How resilience is built [Video]. YouTube. All rights reserved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSf7pRpOgu8&t=28s