Daily Communication

Daily conversations with parents enable you to build trust with families, and also allow for an exchange of information about a child. These daily check-ins may include how the child's day went, how the child slept that night, whether a parent is traveling on business that week, or whether or not the child took a nap that day.

Serious problems should not be discussed during daily check-ins, but rather should take place in a private meeting. A parent-provider conference can be set up if there are significant problems or issues to discuss.

There are many ways to communicate daily with parents, other than the quick check-ins that take place in the morning and afternoon. Some ideas on creating open parent-provider communication include:

• Bulletin boards listing daily activities for each age group
• Lunchtime visits
• Open-door visitation policy for parents
• Daily journals or logs for parents on each child
• A weekly or monthly newsletter for each age group
• Notes or phone calls between parents and providers, as needed
• Emails to parents at home and/or work
• A website for your program
• Volunteer opportunities for parents posted weekly or monthly

Page last updated: Aug 1, 2013