The ABC of Child Care series of posts aims to illustrate for parents what quality child care looks like in practice and aims to be both a tool for parents looking for child care for the first time and as a resource for all parents with children in care. I believe we all share a responsibility to ask questions and expect results when it comes to the environment and people caring for and educating our youngest and most impressionable citizens.
Strong family-centre relationships have the advantage of enhancing learning and development outcomes for the children in care as parents and educators are easily able to work together for the benefit of the child.
What is the best way to achieve positive family-centre relationships?
Effective COMMUNICATION.
Effective communication is;
- Open and honest.
- Respectful: this works both ways. Centre educators should respect you as a parent and expert about your own child. At the same time, you should show staff respect as the people employed to care for and educate groups of young children.
- Two way: this means speaking and listening. We are often good at speaking but not so good at listening!
- Friendly: enter into friendly conversation with your child’s educator regularly as a way of keeping the lines of communication open. Show interest in them as people. Though realise, if you choose to arrive 2 minutes before closing time every day, this can be unrealistic as Centre staff have homes to go to and families to see too as well.
- Solution focused: if there is a problem, try to be calm and offer constructive feedback or suggestions in an effort to find a solution which suits everyone.
- Show gratitude regularly: most child care centre staff are there because they find great joy in working with families and children. They certainly aren’t there for the money or prestige. Wherever possible show your gratitude by taking the time to say, ‘thank you.’
In my experience, being friendly and positive with centre staff results in much better results for both the family and the centre. I remember one mother who was bossy, domineering and often downright rude to staff when talking with them about her daughter’s care. This made the staff feel very uncomfortable with her and hindered the family-centre relationship as staff tended to avoid talking to her, which only made the whole cycle of ineffective communication stronger and harder for everyone involved to deal with.
As well as utilising face to face contact with Centre staff, parents should also take advantage of the multitude of ways the centre communicates information about the children’s experiences in the program;
- By ensuring that they read newsletters and other information sent home,
- Looking at any documentation of children’s work displayed throughout the centre,
- Allowing time when collecting their child to read about their experiences of the day,
- Being involved in centre events,
- Contributing to the program, centre resources, decision making and policy formulation when your help is asked for.
For more about ways parents can contribute to creating positive relationships with their child care centre, check out my previous post, Creating Learning Communities.
I would love to hear about your experiences communicating with educators/carers at your children’s child care centres (both good and bad!) and am happy to answer any further questions you may have. Just leave a comment below.
Related Posts
- The ABC of Child Care: A is for Ambiance
- The ABC of Child Care: B is for Behaviour
- Learning Through Play
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
Honestly I feel like communication is a highlight in my service and it's something I'm proud of.
When my first son went off to school I found the LACK of communication from the school so foreign. I made/still make an effort to chat with the teachers on a regular basis, to be informed about my child/rens progress, efforts etc as well as to be a support to the teachers.
Childcare/education/schooling is a team effort in my opinion. Communication is so important 🙂
Communication is something that I feel I am able to do with ease. I love to ensure that each parent knows how their child's day was; or any changes that are happening that they should know about; explaining why the room is set up as it is; the list goes on.
Same for staff, I have always shared every thought with those in the room with me. To see if they have any ideas for experiences that they want implemented or to discuss any changes that I feel should be made. As with the director, I love when a director is open and honest with you and is approachable!
Great post! You highlighted a very key point within child care.
As a family child care provider, communication is so important! And I find that if we can be respectful and interested and friendly with the day-to-day things, then when one of us has a concern, it's so much easier to discuss. They know that if they express a concern about their child's behavior, for example, that I have been paying attention to their child's development and what is normal for that child, and any thoughts I have are going to be well thought out and relevant. And if I have a concern about something that's going on, I know about the family life and influences, parenting style and recent changes that may have happened, and all those things can help me to understand what's happening with the child.
Good communication makes life better for everyone involved!