Chapter 6: Parenting With Compassion, Hope, and Love: The Heartbeat of a Spiritual Family

Communication and partnerships between families and teachers are essential in nurturing spirituality-based parenting and raising resilient children. Fundamental to raising children who embrace the strength of character to thrive are families who celebrate children’s spiritual strengths. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the importance of spirituality as an attribute of a family lifestyle amenable to establishing strong parenting. The chapter includes three strategies for introducing and supporting positive spiritual relationships in the classroom by giving families valuable tools to initiate and maintain their involvement with teachers. They include (a) bibliotherapy, reading spiritual literature emphasizing respect for family beliefs, cultures, and values; (b) parent-child conferences for sharing home and school experiences and the child’s strengths; and (c) home visits for promoting child engagement and supporting families with spiritual resources. By implementing these three strategies, teachers can create new opportunities for strengthening family relationships that include spirituality. The results of the study show the importance of spiritual family communications for increased parent involvement during challenging times with an appreciation for respecting the cultures and beliefs of individual families.