Newsletters
Child Care Centers and Child Care Providers - Nurturing the Parent-Partnership
While the child is the person entering your facility, your client is usually the parent – who makes the placement decisions and pays the tuition. Parents have good ideas: they know their children well, have their best interests in mind, and have taken a giant leap of faith by placing them in your care. Listening to their collective voice is a wise thing to do. Together you can create a great environment for children and build your reputation as a caring and professional child care provider.
As in any good relationship, communication is often the key. While time during the busy day may be limited, there are ways to keep open communication and get valuable feedback:
Suggestion Box: A suggestion box gives shy parents an easy way to communicate, an unhappy parent a way to
vent, a supportive parent an avenue for making helpful suggestions, and the happy parent a way to shower you with
compliments. Place the box, index cards, and pencils in an easily accessible location, but out of the way—a place
that assures some privacy and anonymity. Be sure to check the box frequently.
Parent Survey: A survey will tell you how your program meets the needs of your families. What do they like most
about the program? Would they like extended or evening care? Make the survey short, conduct it yearly, and
provide some type of incentive so that parents will return it.
Parent Advisory Council: Enlisting a group of helpful, concerned parents is one of the best ways to demonstrate
that you want to create a true partnership. If you haven't done this before, it might be a little threatening at first.
Parents may make suggestions that are impossible because of budget or policy constraints. That's when
brainstorming collectively proves that many heads are better than one. If a suggestion comes up that can be
delegated to a parent, don't hesitate, just do it!
Bulletin Boards and Picture Albums: Pictures are worth a thousand words. Telling about a teacher's hobbies is
one thing, but posting a picture of Kelly, the pre-k teacher rock climbing in Colorado is even better. Place picture
albums on a table depicting field trip excursions, story time, or the ice cream social. You may be able to feature a
family every week or every month. Pass on information by posting interesting articles, reminders, and a calendar of
events.
Parents as Volunteers: Parents, grandparents, even older siblings are often willing and able volunteers. Working
parents may not be available to assist in the classroom or chaperone a field trip but may be happy to repair books or
cut out shapes for the flannel board. Make sure parents know that little things mean a lot, and resist the temptation
to burden a helpful parent with too much volunteering. Have a brainstorming session to come up with all the things
you could accomplish if you had the work force, and then create a list of things that need to be done and share it
with your families.
Newsletters and Memos: No news is bad news. It's imperative to keep parents informed of what's happening. In
newsletters and memos, everything can be shared from child rearing tips to the daily menu and field trip schedule.
Even though some parents appear not to read what you've tirelessly written, think about the ones who do!
Parent Support Programs and Seminars: Learning more about brain and child development, literacy, children with
special needs, the power of play, and a host of other topics are important to parents. Hosting a speaker and
providing videotapes are excellent ways to share knowledge. To cut down on expenses and labour intensity, consider
sponsoring such a seminar with another program or inviting parents to a staff development workshop.
Lending Library or Resource Center: When it comes to their children, parents are consumers of information. The
child care setting is an excellent place to house the best books for children along with handouts for parents,
parenting books, and videos. Boxes filled with dramatic play props for creating offices, beauty salons, and grocery
stores can provide welcome relief to families on a rainy weekend. Puppets, manipulatives, and games will also be
appreciated.