Early Childhood Professionals

Communicating with Families

A child caregiver is an important person in a child's life. The key to a positive parent-caregiver relationship is open and consistent communication. The child benefits the most when parents and caregivers work together in child care.

1. Establishing a positive relationship with your child's family is the key to good communication. Becoming acquainted and learning about one another helps both the caregiver and parent to feel comfortable talking and staying in touch.
    
2. As a caregiver, you can help parents visit about questions, feelings, and ideas by developing your own effective communication techniques. Help the family to effectively communicate information.
    
3. Parents of infants are likely to feel more anxious about their baby being cared for by another person. Since infants do not yet verbalize, it is especially important for parent-caregiver communications to be open, consistent, and informative when the child you care for is an infant.
    
4. Do you have a concern to talk over with parents? This can be tough because there are no magic solutions. Many things that parents and caregivers will discuss are sensitive topics. However, these general tips from the national eXtension.org will help in talking about these concerns effectively.
    
5. When the family of a child in your care goes through the trauma of separation and divorce, it is an exceptionally difficult time for both parents and children. The child caregiver plays a key role in helping children cope through this difficult time.

For more divorce in the family resources and education go to Divorce Effects - Children and Step Family issues.