Here are some suggestions for incorporating family friendly policies into your child care program:
1. Listen carefully to parents - they are experts on their own children, too. Families can provide important information on a child’s behavior outside the program or classroom.
2. Be sensitive to different cultures and child-rearing beliefs
make an effort to respect the family’s values and beliefs.
3. Share pertinent information about the child on a daily basis, especially in programs caring for infants and toddlers. An established system for keeping records and reporting to parents about each child is key to good communication.
4. Welcome parents into the program or classroom. Ask parents to drop by for lunch or snack, or arrange after-work events like socials or pot-luck dinners. Working around parents’ busy schedules sends a message of being sensitive to families’ needs.
5. Communicate with parents about children’s assignments or activities ahead of time. This will allow parents to set time aside for working with their child or coordinate family schedules with school expectations. Parents also appreciate regular, meaningful progress reports early in the year with time and recommendations to help prepare children for the next levels of their education.
Many early childhood programs today are working hard to become more family-friendly, providing newsletters to parents that focus on staff members and professional development, ensuring one positive phone call per child each semester, or even providing voice mail for parents to leave messages after working hours. Programs may demonstrate strengths in different ways, but working together with parents remains crucial. When caregivers make the extra effort to include parents in program activities, and parents take time to attend and participate, children benefit from the best possible learning experience.