Do you feel, as many family day-care providers do, that caring for children is easy compared with working with their parents? Sharing child care responsibility is not easy for you or for parents. Here are some ways to make your work with parents easier for them and for yourself:

• Tell parents what their child did during the day, so they won't feel left out.
• Find good things to tell parents about their children.
• Include parents when possible in special family day-care activities-a lunch, party, or short outing.
• Arrange your activities so you are available to talk to parents at least briefly when they leave their children or come to pick them up.
• Ask parents for advice on caring for their children.
• Look to parents as resources. They can often suggest ideas for field trips or activities.
• Discuss with parents concerns you have about their children. If there isn't time or privacy during the day, arrange to phone in the evening when children are in bed.
• Share with parents information or sources of information on child rearing.

Your children share too. They share their time, their love, and their learning with you and their parents. You can make that sharing easier for them by:

• Letting children know you accept and respect their parents or care givers. Never criticize parents to children or others.
• Encourage children to talk about happy family experiences during day-care and about day-care experiences with their families.
• Help children make gifts or pictures for their parents.
• Let children draw or paint pictures of their home or family to put on your wall, refrigerator, or bulletin board.
• Encourage special contact between children and their parents. If mother or father can receive personal phone calls at work, you and the child might call that parent once a month or on special occasions. You can help older children write notes to their parents, or help younger ones to send picture stories.
• Lend a few toys or books. If a child like a certain toy or book, let them take it home over the weekend to share with parents.

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