Parent Involvement in Family Child Care

08/30/2002

Parent Involvement in Family Child Care

ExchangeEveryDay
Issue #455, August 30, 2002
www.ChildCareExchange.com

"It's a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." —W. Somerset Maugham

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN FAMILY CHILD CARE

In the Summer 2002 issue of The National Perspective, the official newsletter of the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), Therese Wiley, Family Child Care Coordinator at Holloman Air Force Base, offers these thoughts for enhancing connections between parents and family child care providers:

"Caring for the child and the family builds a sense of community.... Before parents are comfortable participating in the providers home, they must feel welcomed in the home, and comfortable with the provider.... The biggest challenge appears to be developing a sense of comaraderie without parents mistaking it as friendship and expecting special favors or waivers to business and contractual issues. From a parents perspective, there appears to be a fine line between professional practices to support each child's development and friendship. Parents seem to mistake one for the other. Providers walk a tightrope trying to remain professional and caring without trying to remain professional and caring without crossing the line into becoming friends with the parents.

"So how do providers encourage parent involvement? By adhering to professional business practices and tailoring their program to meet the needs of individual families:

"Maintain an open-door policy: Give parents a copy of the daily schedule. Invite them to join their children for meals/snacks.

"Avoid playing "favorites" or getting involved with one family more than another. When hosting a get-together, ensure all families are invited.

"Introduce them to each other, but respect their confidentiality. Get to know parent's interests and invite them to share their interests with the children enrolled for care.

"Find innovative ways for parents to support your program that do not require their presence in your home: reading books on tape, collecting recyclables for the program, and providing recipies of their children's favorite foods are just a few ideas."

NAFCC is an Exchange Strategic Partner. For more information about NAFCC and other Exchange Strategic Partners, check out the ECE Organizations section of www.ChildCareExchange.com.

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