Julie was a mother of a 3 year old daughter and a newborn baby boy who attended the family resource program on a weekly basis. Julie always had a positive attitude towards everything, even in times of great stress. She had a strong relationship with her 3 year old and made sure she spent time preparing the child for the new baby coming home. She was a very hands-on mother and teacher and participated alongside her daughter in all of the programs. She attended with both her own twin sister and a sister in law, both of whom had children the same age as Julie's who all attended the programs together. She had a strong support group within her own family and often acted as a support for others.

After her son was born, they all continued to attend on a regular basis, with her daughter being only slightly more clingy to her mom. After about 6 weeks, Julie, with her regular positive attitude, approached the ECE to ask for suggestions. She shared that her daughter had refused to have a bath ever since the baby was born and she was interested in ideas on how to approach this situation.

She shared with the ECE that her approach to parenting had been very intentional, but not like most families. She shared that her family lived a very non-traditional existence. Her husband was a film maker and she was an artist. In the house, they removed their dining room furniture when the children were born and dug the floor out and replaced it with a sandbox. The kitchen table was removed and replaced with a child's sized table and child sized chairs. The walls of the downstairs were painted with chalkboard paint so the children could create at any time. Upstairs, the whole family, mother, father, and both children slept in the same bed and the two other bedrooms were a play space and an art studio, respectively. Her daughter was allowed to choose her own bedtime. In the fall, Julie would begin homeschooling her daughter instead of sending her to kindergarten. She said her family respected her right to live in an alternative, non-traditional manner and asked how we might be able to support her with the current issue she was facing with her daughter.

Despite having lots of family support around her, Julie wanted feedback and suggestions from the ECE only. She had tried the suggestions of her family but felt the ECE would be able to offer her a more objective point of view.

 

Upon discussion with the ECE, Julie learned a few new strategies to address her daughter's unwillingness to bathe. She learned about and then used a 'dry shampoo 'for her hair and she setup a small bowl with warm soapy water and a facecloth so that her daughter could start to clean herself, just not in the bath. But just as quickly as one issue would resolve, a new challenge would arise. The daughter next decided she was not going to learn to toilet train nor was she willing to be in any room without her mother. She was not even comfortable staying with either of her two aunts who also attended the program. Within a short time of increasing challenges, Julie told the ECE she was feeling overwhelmed.

 

PART B - CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION

 

Julie confided in the ECE that life at home was very unsteady and unpredictable. Her husband was having an affair with a very public figure in Canada and his picture was showing up in newspapers and on the news. Her young daughter had seen some of this and in addition could feel the tension in her family. Julie felt the best way to deal with the situation was to insist her husb and stay married to her and that he remain living in the house. Feeling guilty because of the stress, Julie was giving in to anything and everything her daughter demanded, and she dealt with the stress by pretending there wasn't any. The house was turned into a play and learning space for the kids to do whatever they needed to express themselves. Julie did not express herself to her husband or anyone for months and months. Although her husband strongly disagreed with this approach to family life, his input was ignored.

 

Things remained in this state for more than a year until Julie was ready to seek advice from the ECE. She recognized the need for some structure and with the support of her family, the ECE, and a public health parenting program, she was able to take charge in some situations that needed to occur for the best needs of the child. She introduced more structure and routine into the day. It was a slow process of change

PART A - QUESTIONS

Think about the approach you would take as ECEs in this scenario. Based on what you currently know, does it do everything up to this point to support the family (participants - alice) ? Why or why not? What would you have done instead

Answer these questions BEFORE you read part B of Case Study

PART B - QUESTIONS

2. (Having now read the second part of the case study, reflect upon your answer in Part A .Is there anything you would now change, adapt, do differently that you had not previously thought of?
4.