Social Support for Families

If you are parents with a network of supportive family and friends, you may find that it is easier to care for your children and to care for yourselves. Evidence shows that parents need people they can call, even just occasionally, when in need of a sympathetic ear, for transportation, or occasional child care. Your supportive relationships can model positive social interactions for your children as well as give your children access to other supportive adults. Sometimes those relationships may need to be developed. Have you seen the recently released movie “Finding ‘Ohana,” filmed on Oahu, where a family discovers relationships they did not think they could count on?

This section helps you as parents to review your resources and gives recommendations on how to build new supportive relationships.