Life in a democratic family

The aim of this handbook is to promote a culture of democracy through the empowerment and development of parental competencies through parenting skills, attitudes, values and thinking in many ways that parents can passed on to their children.

The way of raising children is a personal and private matter while approaches to upbringing differ as do the dice. However, certain principles go beyond relatives, communities and even national borders. Through his education program, the Council of Europe has developed a framework for this, a concept called democratic culture.

Two new books, “Growing up in a democratic family” and “Living in a democratic family”, designed for parents seeking to raise their children to be active citizens have been developed under the joint European Union/Council of Europe “Quality education for all” action, and are now available.

The books guide the reader through models of parenting, depicting the daily life of a family and the different situations where democracy can be used to help children overcome problems. “Growing up in a democratic family” has been developed for parents of children of two age groups, 6-10 year-olds and 11-14 year-olds, while a separate volume, “Living in a democratic family”, has been developed for adolescents from 15 to 19 years-old. Although primarily aimed at parents, the publications can also be used in schools and by education professionals.