Things You Share (and don’t) With Your Day Care Parents
As providers we are exposed to many families, each having their own unique set of issues. We have an ethical responsibility to these day care families, as well as our own families, to keep this information private unless approved by the parents. This can be a difficult task for even the most experienced providers.
When complaints or disagreements arise we need to listen carefully to the things the parents are expressing and the feelings behind them. We must remember our customers have the right to voice their concerns and these concerns may help us grow as individuals and also improve the quality of your business. Before we respond, we must remember to not take things to personally, but still express our point of view on why we do what we do so they can understand us better.
One example of privacy is when I work with a wonderful program called Crisis Nursery. These children come to my home for a variety of reasons, and they will be known by first name only. Parents will often innocently ask about the child’s history or why they are here and I must remind them that I can’t answer those questions.
When new families enter your care the existing families may have lots of questions. You can reduce the burden of confidentiality by taking the time to introducing the new parents to each of the current families and encourage them to ask their own questions. Sometimes we have to be very firm and just say, “ These are questions that only the family can share with you.”
Most children go through a biting stage and we must remember we can’t say who the biter was. We just inform the parents it happened, what may have caused it, and what we will do to try and prevent it from happening again. It’s okay for the children to tell the facts.
When you have sickness that comes into your day care you’ll need to inform parents what
their child or children have been exposed to. This is a great time to give them information about illnesses. A good source is a book called ‘Infectious Disease in Child Care Settings’ which can be obtained from your local health nurse for a small fee. Again, we need to remember we can’t tell who brought the sickness into the day care but in a small group it may be very obvious anyway.
Dealing with Divorce can be very hard. We can’t repeat what one parent says about the other and we also can’t be the go-between. These parents must communicate directly and leave us out of the middle. Our only interest is the child and it should be theirs too. A notebook is a great way for them to communicate and it also allows you to pass on information too. Everyone gets the exact same story and you are kept out of the middle.
We also have to watch when and where we try to speak with a parent so other parents don’t over hear personal matters. This also applies when speaking to children and will prevent hurt feelings. If you have several parents who come at the same time and you need to speak to one of them privately, give them a note or ask them to give you a call. If you have an issue with a child that that needs to be discussed with them and their parents together you may have to wait for the right time or do it over the phone. There will be times when parents have to be reminded that this isn’t the time or place to have a conversation so lets do it when there are fewer ears around.
It’s best to discuss your privacy policy with new families before they start. You’ll get a feel for what they are comfortable talking about and they will know what is appropriate to discuss and when. I hope these hints help make your day care run smoother. They work for me and the ones who benefit the most are the children.
