The ways families raise their children point towards to family nursing

Abstract

The present study is a reflection about the ways and possibilities of actions nursing can accomplish in the families, elaborated from the results found in an investigation of qualitative nature, developed in the city of Maringá-PR, with the objective of knowing the representations of families of three generations about child raising. The study was accomplished with families - represented most of the time by their wives – who had in common the fact of having had or still have a son, grandson or great-grandson that had attended or that was still attending a day care center. Data were collected from January 1996 to October 1997 through open interview. Results have shown the influence of the socio-cultural context and, consequently, the great change occurred in the ways families raise their children along the last three generations. Regarding the professional's performance, the results points towards the need of having the nurses recognize the plurality of today’s families. And also, it is fundamental that they be predisposed to approach the families in their daily process of living in situations of health as well as in illness.