About Lipscomb
Family Relations and Child Development
Career Opportunities
There are rapidly increasing career opportunities for individuals with backgrounds in child 
development and family studies. Students who choose an emphasis in family relations can find careers in early childhood and family service settings, advocacy and political action, education, government and international services, and in graduate schools preparing for professional roles in marital and family counseling, law, agency leadership, higher education and business. Also career opportunities exist in family resource management and consumer services, parent education, and other careers serving children, youth, and families. There are increasing opportunities for family practitioners in religious settings. Students can combine studies in Bible and Family Relations to prepare for effective work in family ministry. While many of our students wish to work in therapeutic settings with families, the focus of the program is on healthy families, and the prevention of problems through education and intervention. The curriculum is designed to adhere to the framework established by the National Council on Family Relations Family Life Education College and University Curriculum guidelines. See the Alumni spotlights below to learn how graduates are using this major to develop rewarding careers.
Kim Tucker: Leads Foundation, Making a Difference
"If the car needed fixing, everything would be fine," she said. "But once my husband disappeared, everything changed. I went to get an oil change, and all of a sudden, I needed a new engine!"
Out of her own experiences as a single mom, Tucker created the I.C. White Stone Foundation, a non-profit group devoted to helping other single mothers. The group works with East Nashville neighborhood associations to find single moms who might need help, and then connects them into the community and potentially further their education. According to Tucker's statistics, East Nashville has the highest number of single mothers in all of Davidson County, making it the perfect place for her crusade.
Her foundation begain in 2003 as a grass-roots effort and has since touched base with more than 40 moms, though Tucker said only a handfull are permanent fixtures in the program. If there's an attitude of 'gimme,' we tell them they need to go to another agency," she said. "We show them the natural abilities God has given everybody, and how to turn those into entrrepreneurship."
The foundation focuses on children as well as mothers, offering e-mail accounts to moms to help them check in with teachers and inviting kids to its meetings at Nashville Auto Diesel College, which sponsors the group.
"There is such a thing as positive peer pressure, Tucker said. "We monitor each other's parenting skills, and when there's a problem, there are 5, 10, or 15 of us that can weigh in on a solution."
Next on the group's agenda are college tours for members, which Tucker hopes to begin in the spring. The foundation plans to finance the college excursions by catering local parties and events, using the mobile kitchen students at NADC helped prepare for them.
Tucker is a 2003 Family Relations graduate, and received the Stephen Marsh Award for Christian Character as a Senior, and was voted the Outstanding Student in Family and Consumer Sciences by the Department faculty.
The Lipscomb Council on Family Relations is an affiliate collegiate council of the National Council on Family Relations. It exists as a professional organization, tying members to policy, research, and current issues, as well as professional practitioners working with families. The LCFR promotes family wellness through community activity, projects, conferences, presentations, displays, and other professionally related activity. In November, 2009, the annual conference was held in San Francisco, CA. The 2010 conference will be in Minneapolis, MN. Visit the NCFR website for more informtion .
Alumni Spotlight
Click here to learn more about what our alumni are doing!
Resources
Association for Marriage and Family Ministry
Healthy Marriages Nashville (Nashville's Healthy Marriage Initiative)
NCFR (National Council on Family Relations)
NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)
SmartMarriages
First Things First
Marriage Savers
U.S. Administration for Children and Families
