We are going to talk all about quality parent communications and how that is the key to the success of your business

When asked, “Who do you serve?,” many Early Childhood professionals would say, “the children.” Strong early childhood CEOs know that we have at least two customers for every child that walks through our doors. They know that our customers are actually the child and their parent or caregiver. The relationships our teachers and team members develop with each parent is critical to our success of our business and our ability to meet our customers expectations.

The parents are oftentimes not witnesses to all the good things that happen throughout the day. They judge your school, teachers, and team members by what their children tell them and by what they observe during drop-off and pick-up times. Our goal is to provide a high quality experience for the children all day, everyday. Helping to bridge the gap between the parents day and the child's day brings peace of mind, confidence and trust from the parents.

Relationship building with parents is the job of every team member in your school. This connection forms the foundation of mutually trusting relationships. Parents must trust your team members to carry out their wishes and do what is best for their child. Teachers and team members must trust parents to give them useful information to help make the day go smoothly while the children are in school.

We will discuss how to schedule a Welcome Conference with each new family to start off a mutually trusting relationship with parents before the students even begin:

Schedule some time with the parents before the child starts.
A brief 30 minute Welcome Conference is best.
Ask the parents to tell you about their expectations for your team.
Review the All About My Child form with them, discussing specific things about their child.
Give the parents information about the classroom, teacher, typical day, a list of what to bring, and show them the classroom and where personal items go.
Talk briefly about how you will be sharing information with parents via newsletters, conferences, progress notes, All About My Day forms, or what other forms of communication you use in your school.
If a face-to-face conference is not an option be sure they complete the All About My Child form and then email them to let them know you received it highlighting something specific so they know you took an interest in their family and their child.
You can opt to do this with multiple families at once to save time. However, that personal experience of a one on one with each family in the beginning will be well worth the time investment in the long run.

We will also learn and share:

Characteristics that build good parent relationships when fostering a professional environment
Great examples of ideas to help you find as many ways as possible to establish, maintain, and encourage a strong relationship with your families
Great ideas in finding ways to involve parents in your programs and school will allow parents to see firsthand how professional your team is
Topics that our professional team should always avoid during discussion

A great tool to use when dealing with an upset parent is a process called LAYER Parent Communication. The following process may help you resolve a parent's concern when handled in a professional manner. Teaching your team this process will help ensure things can be handled by anyone.

Listen to the parent.
Acknowledge the parents concern.
You’re…. repeat back what you hear.
Earn their Trust demonstrate that you are on their side.
Resolution discuss a possible solution together.

Our goal is to make life a little easier for today’s busy families. Making certain that you provide quality experiences for your children all day everyday gives your families peace of mind and trust in your team. You will leave parents feeling confident about their decision for choosing you! Cultivating quality relationships and communication with your parents should reflect this. The attitude and habits of your team members can continue to build that trust and confidence. Smiles go a long way in creating that trust!

We have created an example conversation of how this process would be used. Check out our Resources section below and download the free Layer Parent Communication process

Some few key notes:

[03:45] How to schedule a Welcome Conference with each new family to start off a mutually trusting relationship with parents before the students even begin.

[06:09] Characteristics that build good parent relationships when fostering a professional environment

[07:06] Great examples of ideas to help you find as many ways as possible to establish, maintain, and encourage a strong relationship with your families

[08:52] Great ideas in finding ways to involve parents in your programs and school will allow parents to see firsthand how professional your team is

[10:13] Topics that our professional team should always avoid during a discussion

[12:29] Layer Parent Communication process

Resources

I hope you enjoyed the podcast. If you found some valuable tips, please go to the Apple podcast app, and leave a review. It would mean the world to me!

Be sure to check out our podcast webpage at Peake Creative for a list of some great team-building ideas.

We hope that this episode brought you some new ideas and reminders about how important parent communication and building family relationships is to the success of your early childhood business. A little time and effort in building these relationships will have a bigger pay off in the end. You will be spending less time having to handle upset parents and can spend more time doing the things you truly enjoy. Focusing on the things that really matter, your top priorities, your key relationships, your most important projects, all the things that will bring you more joy and your business more success. Take care and have a great week!

Visit our Peake Creative Facebook page to learn more about our wonderful community and don’t miss out on lots of downloadable freebies!

Connect with Us:

Peake Creative - Early Childhood Business Strategist

Peake Creative

kelleypeakecreative

Email us at hello@peakecreative.com