Keeping the communication lines open with parents is a vital part of providing quality care for their kids. Parents should know what is going on with their kid in childcare, and feel comfortable addressing any issues with caregivers. We've outlined some best practices below on the way to develop a collaborative and communicative relationship with parents.
Daily update book: One powerful way to communicate is having a daily update book for every child or just certain youngsters. Though this will appear work intensive, bear in mind the updates don't have to be very long! Brief, clear updates about how the child's day went are adequate. Parents can also update the book to tell you how the kid is feeling or behaving before bringing them to daycare in the morning, so that you know what to expect.
Verbal communication: A straightforward way of keeping the lines of communication open is chatting with mothers and fathers when they pick up or drop off their youngsters.
Being accessible: Develop an atmosphere that's warm and open by encouraging mothers and fathers to make contact with you and your staff via the telephone or e-mail. This is going to help increase trust and foster a communicative relationship.
Monthly or weekly newsletters: What is going on at your center this week? A newsletter is a great way to convey the weekly or monthly schedule, share news about the center, and update parents on new themes and activities.
Progress reports: It's sound procedure to do progress reports for each kid on a regular basis. Tracking a child's growth in this way is useful for both caregivers and moms and dads.
Idea box: Another good tool is creating a suggestion box and encouraging mothers and fathers to provide helpful feedback. A suggestion box should not replace verbal communication, but it is a good means for mothers and fathers to leave fast, helpful feedback.
Parent/teacher meetings: Scheduling parent/teacher conferences is also a wonderful way to keep the communication channels open. You can set aside an evening or afternoon for mothers and fathers to come in and talk with workers about their child and provide feedback.
The more effective your communication strategy is, the more satisfied folks will be with your childcare service! We hope that you found some of the recommendations listed informative and useful.
Daily update book: One powerful way to communicate is having a daily update book for every child or just certain youngsters. Though this will appear work intensive, bear in mind the updates don't have to be very long! Brief, clear updates about how the child's day went are adequate. Parents can also update the book to tell you how the kid is feeling or behaving before bringing them to daycare in the morning, so that you know what to expect.
Verbal communication: A straightforward way of keeping the lines of communication open is chatting with mothers and fathers when they pick up or drop off their youngsters.
Being accessible: Develop an atmosphere that's warm and open by encouraging mothers and fathers to make contact with you and your staff via the telephone or e-mail. This is going to help increase trust and foster a communicative relationship.
Monthly or weekly newsletters: What is going on at your center this week? A newsletter is a great way to convey the weekly or monthly schedule, share news about the center, and update parents on new themes and activities.
Progress reports: It's sound procedure to do progress reports for each kid on a regular basis. Tracking a child's growth in this way is useful for both caregivers and moms and dads.
Idea box: Another good tool is creating a suggestion box and encouraging mothers and fathers to provide helpful feedback. A suggestion box should not replace verbal communication, but it is a good means for mothers and fathers to leave fast, helpful feedback.
Parent/teacher meetings: Scheduling parent/teacher conferences is also a wonderful way to keep the communication channels open. You can set aside an evening or afternoon for mothers and fathers to come in and talk with workers about their child and provide feedback.
The more effective your communication strategy is, the more satisfied folks will be with your childcare service! We hope that you found some of the recommendations listed informative and useful.
About the Author:
Jennifer Dilwortz is a writer at Childcare Training Info, the most thorough resource for childcare training information on the web. This post on communicating with parents is part of our Childcare Daily Series.
The Communication Blog
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