Parental involvement and input should be welcomed by day care providers whenever offered. The rewards of this parental participation is mutually beneficial and makes for a positive experience for the children and all concerned. The provider gains a holistic picture of the child from the valuable personal information donated by the parents and in return the day care can pass along a wealth of knowledge gleaned from daily observation.

The opportunity to share ideas and methods about what works and otherwise regarding individual children can be achieved by this mutual cooperation. Respecting, valuing and listening by both parties enriches the day care experience for all concerned. Provider can take into account family values and beliefs whilst parents can learn much about their newly independent, interactive child from the carer. Information sharing should be ongoing and opportunities for communication should be provided formally and informally.

In order to maximise the effectiveness of this sharing process assess your staff and their abilities in the area of working and communicating with parents. Perhaps they need training and guidelines in order that they communicate effectively and professionally. How can staff be supported so that they don’t feel constantly harangued and scrutinised? Consider your current timetable and staffing levels - do these currently allow for time to be spent with parents and any subsequent follow ups? Try to think of innovative ways for parents to become more involved e.g. they could be a guest speaker and talk to the children about a topic of expertise, they could offer to volunteer at the day care occasionally. Parents should be able to air their grievances easily and without feeling judged via your complaints procedure. You should view complaints as constructive criticism and a means to improving your service and should be perceived as open, friendly and professional when it comes to comments. Deal with any issues immediately and thank parents for bringing them to your attention. Management should deal with more serious issues but your complaints procedure should also allow for staff to be empowered to deal with certain problems. Allow parents to offer comments anonymously via a suggestion box.

Your orientation and settling in procedure should facilitate parental involvement from the outset. You can encourage positive interaction by forming a parents committee so that they have allies and a collective voice. Parents need a daily point of contact regarding their child so integrate a key worker system into your day care. Use your notice board or a newsletter to provide information about weekly scheduling and activities. In order to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion you should share daily information both verbally and in writing. It is a great idea to have a website and a blog where parents can leave comments and you can update everyone regarding day care activities. You can include a staff page on here with photos and information.

Parental involvement in your day care can potentially provide you with untold resources heretofore untapped. Parents will be encouraged to give back if they feel valued and supported. Opening up channels of communication and sharing can avoid many misunderstandings and conflicts that are borne out of lack of information. A friendly, welcoming and open day care should be your ultimate goal. An all inclusive day care is a happy day care.

Fiona Lohrenz has 10 years experience running a day care and has launched a child care website directed at providers and parents. She has also produced a ‘Start a ChildCare Business’ DVD guide: Start A Childcare Business DVD Fiona can be reached at her website: ChildCareOnly.com

- Fiona Lohrenz