Working in Teams with Parents

1. Working in Teams with Parents

2. Objectives • Recognize the benefits of forming partnerships with parents. • Identify guidelines for caregiver-parent partnerships. • Describe strategies for including families in the life of the program.

3. 4 Corners:Your Current Partnerships with Parents Creating a welcoming environment for parents and families. Exchanging child observations with parents. Establishing a family-centered enrollment process. Encouraging parents to participate in the center.

4. Caregiver Attitude Survival Kit • With a partner, explore the items in the bag. • Then match each item with the statements on page 35 in your PG.

5. Answers This was a fun activity to get our minds thinking about parents and being levelers with them. • Each parent is unique • Our support nourishes • Celebrate parents’… • Provide support to grab • Need time alone • Solid foundation • Loving relationship • Need the whole deck • Child/parent pair is • Toss all negatives out

6. Treating Tony’s Ear • With your group, read through this story. • Answer the questions and be prepared to discuss as a whole group.

7. Summary This scenario pleads the case for having primary caregivers and continuity of care so parents have consistency! • Parents respond positively when caregivers take time to know and talk with them about their children. • Parents are caught off guard by conflicting advice and procedures from the same team of caregivers. • The way caregivers approach teamwork directly affects parents.

8. Benefits of Caregiver-Parent Partnerships • Divide into 3 groups. • Choose a perspective: • Child’s • Parent’s or • Caregiver’s • Record your thoughts on chart paper. • Present to group.

9. Summary • Before investing, people need to be convinced that the benefits are well worth their time and effort! • These partnerships directly affect the children!

10. Guidelines for Caregiver-Parent Partnerships • Recognize role separation. • Practice open communication. • Focus on parents’ strengths. • Use a problem-solving approach to conflict.

11. Reports on the Guidelines for Caregiver-Parent Partnerships • Divide into 4 groups. • In your group, you will be assigned one guideline. • Look on pages 36-37 for your guideline and develop a report that answers the questions presented. • Use Tender Care to help. • Record your report on chart paper. • Report to the whole group.

12. Some Clarifications • Caregivers and parents play different, important, non-competing roles related to children. • Caregivers who are levelers with parents invite the formation of trusting relationships with them. • Caregivers who focus on parent’s strengths are more apt to make parents feel welcome than caregivers who overlook their strengths or focus on their weaknesses. • Working through the conflict resolution process as levelers helps to build strong relationships with parents.

13. Role Separation Role Play • Answer these questions: • How might the mothers of the bride and groom interacted differently if they had put the bride’s interests and desires at the center of the flower-ice sculpture? • How do the relationships you experienced in the role play compare to relationships that often occur between caregivers, parents, and children in the setting? • What does this role play say about the need for role separation between parents and caregivers? • Divide into groups of 3. • You will be acting out a scene that involves a bride (groom), mother, and mother of the groom. • Select a role, read your descriptor and role play.

14. Point of Role Play • Mothers had strong opinions about each other and their wants. • The bride wanted something from each mother. • Caregivers and parents often get caught up in competing with each other. • Sometimes the child’s needs are forgotton. • Child wants and needs different things from both the parent and the caregiver.

15. Masks: Open Communication with Parents • In groups, turn to pages 38-29 in your TB. • Choose a mask and make a mask using plates and markers. • Follow the instructions and answer the questions. • Discuss as a whole group.

16. Finding Parent’s Strengths It is important to pull out the strength’s even in the parents with the least appealing qualities so that we can have a good relationship with them and their child. • On the wall are two pieces of chart paper labeled: • Most Desirable Parent Qualities • Least Desirable Parent Qualities • Take a marker and write out your responses. • As a whole group, let’s come up with a list of strengths in the parent with the least desirable qualities.

17. Caregivers use the Adult Conflict Resolution Steps with Parents • Approach calmly. • Acknowledge adults’ feelings. • Exchange information. • Look at the problem from the child’s viewpoint. • Restate the problem. • Generate ideas for solutions and choose one together. • Be prepared to follow up the problem.

18. Feelings Thoughts Feelings are Acknowledged CONFLICT Feelings Thoughts Thoughts Feelings “Bailing” of Feelings

19. Strategies for Including Families in the Life of the Program Discuss: How do the guidelines for working with parents from the morning discussion---role separation, open communication, focus on strengths, and a problem-solving approach to conflict---relate to the strategies for welcoming families into center life? • Caregivers create a welcoming environment for families. • Caregivers establish a family-centered enrollment process. • Caregivers exchange child observations with parents, but leave “firsts” to families. • Caregivers encourage parents to participate in the center.

20. Comparing Strategies Key for success: • It is important to keep the guidelines in mind as you interact with parents. • Keeping the guidelines in mind helps you interact with parents in a welcoming, encouraging and more purposeful manner. • It may help to post the guidelines where you can easily see them.

21. User-Friendly Enrollment Materials • Discuss: If you were going to enroll in an intensive month-long child study program in Hawaii, what would you want to know about the program ahead of time? • Look at page 42, and discuss how you would make the materials more user-friendly for parents.

22. Some Suggestions • Use language that is clear and jargon-free. • Use a tone that is positive rather than legalistic. Here is what you’ll need to bring along with your child… rather than It is required that you provide the following… • Use print that is big enough to read easily and pages are not too crowded. • When possible, use photos, clip art, drawings, children’s drawings which provide warmth and interest.

23. Sharing Child Observation with Parents • Turn to page 43-44 and with your group, read through the scenarios and discuss the questions. • Keep in mind: • Role separation • Open Communication • Parent’s strengths • Problem-solving approach • Discuss as a whole group.

24. Your Own Partnerships with Parents • Turn to page 45 and think about your own partnerships with parents. • As a whole group discuss: • What makes the greatest difference on your part between a parent-caregiver partnership that works well and one that does not work well?

25. Partnerships with Parents Implementation Plan Turn to page 46 and individually complete an implementation plan.