An important aspect of adult relationships in infant toddler programs is realizing that caregivers tend to go through stages of relating to parents.
Caregivers in stage 1 focus on the child alone and sometimes can be said to have a "savior complex."
Caregivers in stage 2 tend to focus on both parent and child, but they have a strong urge to educate parents so they learn how to better handle and rear their children.
Caregivers in stage 3 aim to create a partnership with the parent and family.
Communication with parents involves the following:
A first task when enrolling a child in a child care program is to jointly create a service plan for the child and also for the family.
Understanding what blocks communication can help to open it up so parents are comfortable in both informal conversations and also during more formal conferences.
Parents who have children with special needs may have additional issues that you may need to understand when communicating with them.
Sometimes just listening is helpful, but other times, caregivers and parents must negotiate with each other.
Parent Education and Involvement
Parent education can occur informally as parents and other family members see what is going on in the program. Parent involvement can help them feel welcome and encourage them to spend more time in the program, but it should be voluntary.
The goal of parent education should not be to make the parent into a professional caregiver. Caregivers and parents have different roles and that is as it should be.
Caregiver relations take on different meanings depending on whether the caregiver is a family child care provider or a member of a center-based staff.
Respect is a key component of all relationships—both those that adults have with children and those that adults have with each other.
