Parent Participation At Day Care

Day care providers should grab every available opportunity to involve parents and welcome their input. When parents participate in a child care service it makes for a very rewarding and positive experience for all concerned including the children. You can share insights that you have gleaned from observing the child at day care and in return parents can provide a wealth of valuable information giving you a holistic picture of the child.

The opportunity to share ideas and methods about what works and otherwise regarding individual children can be achieved by this mutual cooperation. Respecting, valuing and listening by both parties enriches the day care experience for all concerned. Provider can take into account family values and beliefs whilst parents can learn much about their newly independent, interactive child from the carer. Information sharing should be ongoing and opportunities for communication should be provided formally and informally.

Staff assessment in the area of working and communicating with parents may be required in order to maximise the effectiveness of this sharing process. In order that they can communicate effectively and professionally they may need further training and guidelines. Support your staff so that they feel encouraged to participate in this process. You need to ensure enough time is allowed for parent consultation and subsequent follow ups so you may need to consider your current timetable and staffing levels. If parents have particular interests or areas of expertise e.g.storytelling or music encourage them to share it with the children as a kind of guest speaker. You should have a complaints procedure in place that allows parents to air their grievances easily and without feeling judged. You should be seen as open, friendly and professional and as such, should view complaints as constructive criticism and a means to improving the quality of your day care service. Thank parents for bringing issues to your attention and deal with the problem immediately. It is important to have a complaints procedure in place so that staff are empowered to deal with certain issues whilst management step in for more serious incidents. Perhaps have a suggestion box where parents are welcome to offer suggestions/criticism anonymously.

Your orientation and settling in procedure should facilitate parental involvement from the outset. Form a parent’s committee so they have a collective voice thus encouraging positive interaction. Parents need a daily point of contact regarding their child so integrate a key worker system into your day care. Provide information about weekly scheduling and activities either by posting details on the noticeboard or sending out a newsletter. In order to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion you should share daily information both verbally and in writing. Have a website with a blog where you can post comments about goings on at the day care and parents can, in turn, post comments. You can include a staff page on here with photos and information.

Heretofore untapped resources can be accessed via parental involvement in your day care. Parents will be encouraged to give back if they feel valued and supported. Many conflicts and misunderstandings are borne out of lack of information so opening up channels of communication can avoid these. A friendly, welcoming and open day care should be your ultimate goal. Happy parents mean happy kids mean happy you!

Fiona Lohrenz writes childcare articles based on the 10 years she has spent running a daycare. She also incorporates that knowledge into her ‘Start a ChildCare Business’ DVD Guide: Start A Day Care Business DVD Find out more at her website: ChildCareOnly.com

- Rene Sandan