Scenario

William and Sophia have recently moved to the community with their four children. Their youngest child, Aislin, is 8 months old, and is very predictable and easy to care for. Both parents work long hours, and neither has family that lives nearby.

Sophia is often in a hurry when she drops off Aislin in the morning and picks her up at the end of the day.

After a week in your care, you mention to Sophia when she picks up Aislin that she will need to bring in another set of diapers for the coming week.

Sophia responds: "It's always something. We really should have stopped at three kids, or I should have listened to my own parents, who felt they'd have been better off if they never had one! I wasn't even sure I wanted one... I just don't feel like I can even keep up with the constant demands of work, let alone kids, kids, kids."

Based on what you have learned about the role of child development professionals in responding to both the child's and the family's needs, respond to the following:

What strengths does each family system present in terms of supporting their child's social-emotional health?

What stressors and adversity are faced by each family?

How might these strengths, stressors, and adversities potentially impact the young child's social-emotional development?

What strategies would you use as a child development professional to support each of these families.