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It is my responsibility, as a professional working in the field of early childhood education, to build a positive, respectful relationship with the families of the children I serve. It is my goal to create a healthy partnership with each family member so that they feel listened to, valued, and respected. I want every parent to feel that I am approachable and available to speak with them any time they have concerns or issues they would like to discuss. Families should feel like we are a team that works together to provide a positive, successful environment for their children.
Creating a positive relationship with parents helps to foster an environment which allows children to be successful. They have improved grades, higher attendance, and better social skills (Scully, Stiles, Roberts-King, Barbour, 2019, p. 268).
At the beginning of the program year, it is important to set up a time to meet with each family to make introductions and to learn a little bit about the child, and their environment and culture. At this time, I would provide the family with our student handbook and give them the best contact information so that they are able to reach me when the need arises. This is also a wonderful opportunity to find out how the family prefers to be contacted and what language they prefer to have their correspondence in. Ask if an interpreter is desired during any future meetings or conferences. Discover if the family would like to be contacted by texting, or if they prefer telephone calls or email (Mariconda, (2003). Some families might just prefer a handwritten note placed in the child’s backpack. It is important to discover and respect how, and with what frequency, each family would prefer to be communicated with.
Meeting the children and families in advance also allows for parents to communicate about any special needs their child may have either physically or intellectually and to learn about any special accommodations that their child may need in order to be successful in our program. It is especially important to build a strong, trusting relationship with these families so that we can work together to provide the best possible outcome for their children.
During this initial meeting with families, I would inform them of what to expect in the way of more formal communications throughout the year. I may provide them with the first month’s calendar and newsletter and inform them of the required quarterly conferences.
Of all the ways I communicate with families, the most important one is to personally greet them every morning. It is important to welcome parents with a genuine, friendly smile and a positive attitude. Families should feel welcome. This daily communication is crucial for building a positive relationship. In addition to welcoming them personally, our environment needs to be warm and inviting. Parents should feel like they can enter, participate as a volunteer, or just spend time with their child in our classroom. We should invite parents to volunteer in whatever capacity fits them.
Building positive communication with families helps prepare us for getting parents involved in their children’s learning. A good relationship ensures that there are open lines of communication and parents are able to receive information from and provide information to staff on a regular basis. We can encourage parent involvement by providing resources for families to use and explore at home. Teachers can suggest books to read or send books home. Our calendar or newsletter can include a simple recipe or games that families can work on together.
Parents and families can be engaged by building a partnership with them. Work with parents to help determine rules, curriculum, and special activities. We can provide learning opportunities to parents develop skills so that they have the confidence to participate in their child’s education (Kirkwood, 2016). Working in a partnership with families also helps us be better able to create learning experiences that better reflect the culture of individual families.
In summary, building a positive relationship and fostering parent involvement and engagement paves the way for parents to be empowered and to continue to participate in their child’s education in the years to come (Scully, Stiles, Roberts-King, Barbour, 2019). This benefits the children and helps them to become more successful students.
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