Involving the Parents in Day Care Activities

Day care providers must take advantage of every available opportunity to include parent’s ideas and listen to their input. It is always fruitful and result oriented when parents of children are included in day care activities. Day care employees also can share information that they have seen some improvements regarding the child at the day care centre and in return, parents can focus by giving out a whole lot of valuable information giving the day care providers a whole idea of what the child is like outside the day care.

The balance of ideas
The chance to bounce off ideas and techniques on what works and otherwise, focusing on the different children can be reached by this unspoken cooperation and understanding. Respecting each other, valuing each others inputs, and listening to thoughts from both parties makes each child’s stay much better experience. Day care providers can site and put weight on family values and practices while parents can learn more about the behaviour of their child or children from the day care providers. Formal and informal venues of exchanging thoughts between the day care provider and parents should be a continuous thing.

The assessment of the day care employees by the day care provider might prove beneficial in how they can obtain information from the parents regarding their child or children. This assessment will help as a guide on how they can obtain information from the parents. This assessment has to be done discreetly. Time management is of the importance in doing such assessment. Think of more venues for the employees and the parents to communicate. Think of ingenious ways for parents to gain more involvement e.g. they could participate in cooking demos for the children; they could participate in activities of the day care centre.

A complaints procedure should be set that allows parents to share their inner thoughts and complains easily and without the feeling of being judged. Day care providers should be perceived as approachable, a good listener and professional and with that said, should look at as grievances as constructive criticism and a venue to improve the quality of the providers’ day care service. The day care provider should show gratitude to parents for bringing up issues to the providers attention and focus on the problem right away. It is imperative to have a complaints program in place so the staff is authorized to focus with particular issues as management come in for the more serious incidents. Maybe having a suggestion box will allow parents to come up with suggestions and criticisms with their identities withheld.

Information venues
Involve the parents from the onset of activities by including them in an orientation and ocular visit and the settling in activity. Forming a parents committee will allow the parents have a collective voice thus allowing for more positive interaction. Installing a key worker system in the day care will allow parents have a daily point of contact focusing on their child’s welfare. Sending out information via newsletter or a bulletin board allows parents and employees to monitor the day care’s schedule. The information can be sent verbally also so that there is less chance of misunderstanding or confusion. Web sites and blog sites are the new way for parents to communicate with the day care provider. Involve the staff in a staff page with information and photos.

Involving the parents in the providers’ day care can positively provide the provider with free resources and good feedback. Parents become more helpful to the day care centre when they know that the day care centre is doing a great job. And because of this open communication system, misunderstandings are an unlikely possibility. With this in mind, day care providers have to make sure that their day care centre is warm, open and friendly. A parent with peace of mind is a peaceful parent.

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