Giving Advice to Parents

"How would you feel if you believed the professionals in your program were more knowledgeable and expert about your child than you were?" asks Anne Stonehouse in her Exchange book, How Does it Feel: Child Care from Families' Perspective.  Then she observes:

"The knowledge and expertise of experienced professionals can be very helpful to families, especially those who are inexperienced.  At the same time it can be daunting.  Professionals need to take care about giving out advice and information to families.  Parent support is much more appropriate than believing you have a mandate to 'educate families.'  The point is to support and empower families as the most important people in their child's life.  Excellent parenting involves both availing yourself of information and advice and also trusting yourself.  Too much 'information' from experts can cause families to lose confidence and become confused, especially when advice is conflicting."

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