Kenneth Lafontaine
Extension Agent, Youth Development, Hardin County
One of the important strengths of 4-H is that it provides an opportunity for family involvement. By design, 4-H encourages parents to take part in members' activities and experiences.
Parents are especially important to the 4-H program. If involved, they can provide;
If parents choose to be involved, it will generally be as a "supporter" of their child's project and experiences, or as an "active participant" who wants to help with the 4-H group's activities.
When looking at parents, volunteers should not assume all parents are alike or will take an active role in their child's 4-H experience. Being awarethat these differences exist, and knowing why, can often help volunteers select the best way to approach parents about helping their child succeed.
Parents can be categorized into five general types, though, no parent will fit perfectly into a single category. They will however, exhibit the general characteristics of one of the following parenting types.
Balanced-Share the experience with their child. Learning and growing through 4-H is their goal. These parents need to be informed so they can help make their child's experience the best it can be.
Overprotective-Protect and pamper their child. Parents may tend to do the work, guarding the child from failure or problems. These parents need to learn to let the child experience all aspects of growing up.
Over Strict-Fault finders who are very critical of their children when they don't achieve the parents' standards. These parents must learn to let their child be a child and experience learning at the child's level.
Unconcerned-Give their child little support or encouragement. These parents may be hard to change, but should be frequently contacted and made aware of what the child and club are doing.
Take Over-Takes on the child's responsibility. This parent seeks something more from 4-H than a learning experience for their child. Educating this parent on the reason why 4-H exists can be a way to reduce project domination.
Sometimes volunteers forget, or parents may not know, but 4-H is a three-way working relationship. It is the volunteer providing opportunities for the members in his/her 4-H group, the member using those opportunities to learn and grow, and the parents serving as a backup and aide in the child's efforts to get the most from 4-H membership.
With this concept in mind, volunteers must work to enhance the working relationship among the three partners. When this cooperative relation is created, the educational goal of 4-H will be more easily attained.
As a volunteer, you must constantly strive to remember parents are, and should be, an asset to be used. They should be involved in the 4-H process. The time spent developing a parent/volunteer/member relationship will certainly bring the families closer together and provide additional help for the leadership team.
Most parents are, to some degree interested in the well being of their child. However, making assumptions about parents' interest, or willingness in becoming actively involved in 4-H work is the incorrect way to approach the matter of parent support. Assuming you know what people think, believe, or understand will certainly mean that you are misrepresenting reality.
Reasons parents take an active role in 4-H include:
No matter what the reason, many parents are willing to take the time to help make 4-H worthwhile for their children.
There are legitimate reasons that eliminate some, but not all, parents from being involved in their child's project work or club activities. However, it is critical to communicate with parents and share the information they need to be able to effectively decide the level of support they can provide their child and/or role they can take in 4-H work.
The final phase in this process involves three steps. By mastering these and you will surely improve the quality of your members' 4-H experience.
Step 1: Analyze level of parent knowledge
Before you can expect participation, we must educate the audience. Parents, like members and new volunteers, must learn the 4-H way. Take a few minutes to evaluate/identify the level of knowledge each parent brings to the group. This information will provide a base to work from.
Step 2: Inform the parents about 4-H
Effectively communicating with parents is a critical step in getting them involved. Informing them about 4-H and their role as parents will create a line of communication that will benefit all involved. Ways to create this relationship include;
Step 3: Getting parents involved
The role you ask parents to take should be dependent on their interest. By this stage you should know which parents will be "supporters," "active participants" and "non-supporters." With this information in hand, it is time to get parents on board.
Parents in the "Supporter" role will continue to be there for their children if you keep them informed. Make a list of the ways you communicate what the 4-H group expects of its members. An open letter to parents soon after the group is organized, a list of dates and upcoming opportunities, newsletters, telephone calls to parents, and direct contacts are great ways to promote this type of parent involvement. Remember, the easiest way to lose help is by forgetting to nurture it and not asking for it.
"Active Participants" will normally help if asked. Most people want to help but will wait to be asked before volunteering their time and effort. During the program planning process volunteers should make a list of tasks parents could perform. Using that list, develop and distribute a brief parent interest survey exploring tasks you need parents to do. Typing, planning a community service project, coordinating refreshments for meetings, or presenting a program to the group are a few examples of tasks parent can do. Telephone calls and direct contacts are another way to find those willing to assist. Be prepared by knowing what you want parents to do and how much time it will require. Vague requests often get "no" for an answer. Always remember that when seeking help, asking may be hard, but it is still the best way to get parents involved.
"Non-supporters" provide the biggest challenge. Keeping them informed and encouraging their involvement may be the most volunteers can do.
Showing appreciation for assistance provided by parents will encourage future involvement. Recognize parents by giving praise, say "thank you", provide public recognition of parent's efforts, or holding special events for parents. Encourage members to recognize parents with cards, notes, phone calls, personal thank yous etc.
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Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
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