MINDFUL PARENTING PROGRAM IN IMPROVING PARENTING SKILLS OF ORPHANAGE CAREGIVERS AT RUMBELA MUTHMAINNAH-BANDUNG

Abstract

The article aims at explaining the authors’ proposal to develop parenting education for caregivers of an Islamic orphanage in Bandung namely Rumah Belajar (Rumbela) Muthmainnah in improving parenting skills of caregivers. The preliminary study conducted at Rumbela Muthmainnah indicated that the caregivers had limitations and practiced the parenting based on their nurtured experience or by “trial and error” ways. The observation and interview results showed that lack of nurturing experiences and participation in parenting training or education made the caregivers have limitations in overcoming the children’s problems effectively. Care by orphanage caregivers should be able to replace the parental care of biological parents/relatives for orphanage children with the purpose of making them grow into happy children and satisfied with their lives or have high subjective well-being. Non-biological parenting is not easy, even may cause stress either for caregivers and children. It required a parenting program to improve parenting skills of caregivers at the same time to have an impact in improving subjective well-being of children. The parenting program proposed in the study will be developed from Bögels and Restifo’s mindful parenting (2014) which involves awareness, observation, and description of children’s behavior in a “not judgmental” way. The practice of mindfulness is assumed to be able to help caregivers cope with stress in parenting and develop acceptance of the problems, at the same time to help children happier and satisfied with their life.