Parents and Child Care
Course Description:
Written for all childcare providers who interact with parents.
Maintaining harmony with parents will benefit you, the child, and the parents. Learn ways to build a trusting relationship with families, empower parents to collaborate in their children’s learning and create a sense of community. Learn communication strategies to interact effectively with parents who have different cultural backgrounds or communication styles. Understand how to anticipate and handle difficult situations common in child care and how to conduct home visits, teacher-parent conferences and group meetings. Course includes a variety of sample forms to assist you in your interactions with parents. See the course topics listed below for more information on what is covered.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing Parents and Child Care you will be able to explain the importance of parental involvement in child care and its benefits for children; discuss the meaning of the teacher-parent relationship as a partnership; and indicate the teacher’s role in establishing a partner relationship and empowering parents. Read more.
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NAC: The NECPA Commission, Inc. has approved this educational program as meeting the criteria for continuing education for the National Administrator Credential. |
Topics Covered in Parents and Child Care:
- The importance of parental involvement in supporting children’s development
- The role of the teacher in encouraging parent participation in the child care program
- The meaning of a relationship of full partnership with parents
- How to encourage parents’ engagement and collaboration
- The value of empowering parents
- The importance of understanding each family’s cultural background
- How to support parents who have limited English
- How to support parents under stress
- The sources of teacher stress in parent interactions
- The importance of first impressions to prospective parents
- Ways to ensure that your child care program makes a favorable first impression
- How to conduct a tour
- The importance of orientation of new families
- What to include in your written policy statement
- How to ease parents’ separation anxiety and support parents and children during their adjustment to your program
- The importance of effective two-way communication in establishing partnership with parents
- How to develop a trusting relationship and maintain harmony between teachers and parents
- How to understand the difference between assertive and aggressive behavior
- How to be assertive in your interactions with parents
- Communication strategies for effective communication in difficult situations common to child care
- How to be prepared for common challenges that produce tension between parents and teachers
- Strategies for initiating family involvement and participation in their children’s learning
- How to create a parent participation plan with activities for parents to do with children at school or at home
- How to use information messages to maintain frequent contact with parents
- How to use a website to facilitate two-way communication and parent participation
- How to develop content for your website that is inclusive of different cultural backgrounds
- The value of home visits in strengthening the connection between home and school
- How to prepare for a teacher-parent conference
- How to conduct a teacher-parent conference
- How to discuss difficult topics such as developmental delays and children’s challenging behaviors during a conference
- How to hold successful group meetings with parents and build a sense of community
Prerequisites: Must be able to fluently read and write English.
Instructional methodology: Read written material, view videos, listen to audio segments.
Assessment methods: Multiple choice quizzes and written assignments.
Comments on Parents and Child Care:
I found this course to be very interesting, with lots of helpful information. – Mounds View, Minnesota
"This was a great, fast, easy experience. I talked to several people at Care Courses and everyone was helpful and kind. I could not believe the speed in which I got my grades back. Thank you very much." - Amarillo, Texas
I enjoyed taking the course Parents and Child Care; I was able to get many new ideas that I would like to try out at the center. - Crownsville, Maryland
I had a wonderful experience taking this course with you guys. I reached out to you guys via email and phone and received immediate assistance. I look forward to taking more courses with Care Courses! - Randallstown, Maryland
Care Courses currently offers over 30 professional development courses and one non-credit training tutorial on the CDA process. All courses offer clock hours and an official online certificate of completion. The free CDA tutorial does not offer clock hours or a certificate.
Care Courses' course tuition entitles one person to receive the clock hours granted by a course upon successful completion. Bundle pricing covers tuition for all the courses included in a bundle.
To receive the CEUs and Clock Hours for a course, you must adhere to and sign our honor code, follow directions on written assignments and show comprehension of the course content. You must make 70% or better on all course quizzes. Less than 70% will result in trainer review and evaluation. If review indicates the need for discussion, you will be informed that you must speak with a trainer. You will be given a second chance to make 70% or better. Should you fail to do so, you will receive a letter indicating that you did not pass the course and may not retake the course for 12 months.
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