How do family–neighborhood ties reduce parenting stress and promote child development?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Family–neighborhood ties provide social support, which leads to the following benefits:
• Parental self-worth. A neighbor or relative who listens and tries to relieve a parent's concern enhances her self-esteem. The parent, in turn, is likely to interact in a more sensitive and involved manner with her children.
• Parental access to valuable information and services. A friend who suggests where a parent might find a job, housing, and affordable child care and youth activities helps make the multiple roles of spouse, parent, and provider easier to fulfill.
• Child-rearing controls and role models. Friends, relatives, and other community members may encourage and demonstrate effective parenting practices and discourage ineffective practices.
• Direct assistance with child rearing. As children and adolescents participate in their parents' social networks and in neighborhood settings, other adults can influence children through warmth, stimulation, and exposure to a wider array of competent models. In this way, family–neighborhood ties can reduce the impact of ineffective parenting. Nearby adults can also intervene when they see young people skipping school or behaving antisocially.