Parent-Teacher Relations

Infants

What We Saw: Both parents brought their child to the early childhood classroom in the morning. The child's father was holding the baby and said to his spouse, "Do you want to smooch or fill out papers? It hurts the smooching if I have to fill out papers." He handed the baby to his spouse and said, "Here, you do the smooching, and I'll fill out the papers." Mom sat down with the child and kissed him repeatedly. She held the child's hands and he pulled himself to an upright position. She looked into his eyes, and said, "Look at my big man. Are you going to stand? What a big man." Meanwhile, Dad completed the necessary paperwork, and walked over to give the child a good-bye "smooch." Mom put the child on a soft area on the floor, and said good-bye to him. She turned to the teacher, and said, "I'll be back later to feed him."

What It Means: Parents and early childhood teachers must be partners in the care of infants. The foundation of trust and positive social development begins in infancy by the development of sensitive, caring relationships with significant adults. Quality infant classrooms have an atmosphere that welcomes parents to the room, encourages their involvement and fosters communication.

Infants

What We Saw: A father arrives to drop off his infant daughter. The teacher chats with the father as she takes the girl's coat off, asking if she slept this morning. When the father kisses his daughter and begins to leave, the teacher squats by her on the floor and says, "Say goodbye Dad". The infant continues playing with a toy, so Renee picks her up and shows her Dad by the door. The child now looks contentedly at her father. The teacher tells him "Have a good day" as he leaves.

What It Means: This teacher has built a good relationship with the father, who has become comfortable in the arrival routine. The teacher promotes a two-way sharing of information, which is essential to providing good care for infants and toddlers. Then the teacher makes sure the child acknowledges the parent's departure. This helps the child deal with any separation distress by building a sense of predictability and control. This will help as she moves through a phase of greater separation anxiety in the months ahead. It also helps alleviate the parent's separation distress by recognizing the parent's connection to the child.

Infants

What We Saw: The teacher greets a father, who has come to visit his infant son. She finishes feeding lunch to the boy as they chat. She tells the father what his son did during the morning - sat up for a while playing with toys. Dad explains how they give him time to lay on his tummy and push up with his arms. The teacher gets the infant out of the highchair and hands him to the father, saying, "Have some bonding time". They chat as she cleans up the highchairs and the floor from lunch. Dad asks about another child's age and sitting up, and the teacher tells him how they work on building the babies' back muscles. He asks about what abilities to expect in his child at this age, and she replies that each child is unique.

What It Means: The teacher's friendly greeting and willingness to chat helps to build a trusting relationship with this parent. She tries to make him feel welcome to visit and spend time with his son in the center. She lets the father see how feeding and sanitation routines are handled (like their children, parents learn by observing models). She also answers his questions about development. This kind of time spent together sharing information about the child helps to ensure consistency of care for the baby, and helps parents feel comfortable about the care their child is receiving. The teacher gains information about the child's experiences at home and the parent's child rearing practices and goals. This sense of partnership in the child's care benefits parents, child and caregiver. Research has confirmed that the early childhood programs with the most long-lasting impacts on child development are those that involve the parents the most.

Preschool

What We Saw: On the parent bulletin board an attractively bordered, computer generated note is posted describing what the children did in the classroom that day. Pictures of children engaged in activities are also included (they have a digital camera in the center). Each day a new note is posted and the note from the previous day is placed into a 3-ring binder labeled, "What we do in classroom #1". This binder is placed on the parent table outside the classroom. Parents and visitors can look through this binder and get a good idea of what the children are doing each day.

What It Means: Often when parents ask their children what they did all day the answer is "nothing!" By posting each day what the children are doing in the classroom, it gives the parents a great opportunity to start a discussion with their child about what happened at school that day. It also sends the message to parents that the teachers in this classroom have planned, organized activities.

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