Parent Involvement In Daycare: A Beginner’s Guide

For many full-time working parents, whose children are in daycare for long stretches of the day, your child’s activities are somewhat of a mystery. How can you know what your little one has been up to? The best way to know is to get involved. However, parent involvement in daycare can feel a bit scary. Fear not, this guide is here to help!

A quality early childhood education program encourages parents’ participation both at daycare/preschool and at home. The way the child care center is set up should reflect that and welcome you to build a sense of community there to support your child. Here are some ways to help boost your parent involvement in daycare:

Communication

Make sure that there is a reliable communication method between home and daycare. Whether it is a verbal recap of the day, a written note that is sent home with them, or an app that allows you to stay in touch, it’s important to know the highs and lows of your child’s day. Many centers have bulletin boards and weekly emails to keep parents in the loop. Some child care providers are adopting new apps that allow them to communicate via email or text. Communication, however, goes both ways. So, make sure you are sharing relevant information with the child care provider too, like potty-training progress. If your daycare doesn’t use one yet, talk to them about signing up with a program such as Procare, Brightwheel or HiMama that allows you to know about your child’s activities throughout the day.

Visits

Dropping in occasionally, even ten minutes here and there, can help you feel more in tune with what is going on. Look for child care programs that have an open-door policy. If visiting is not an option, another new high-tech trend may be a good alternative. Indeed, online video streaming now allows you to check on your kid any time of day. If your child care program doesn’t have video streaming, ask them about it and see if they would be open to installing one.

Committees

If there is any sort of parent committee, make a conscious effort to join, even if you can’t make every meeting. Joining a group of parents who are just like you can be extremely helpful. Also, you could gain access to resources you didn’t even know were available. If your daycare or preschool doesn’t have a parent committee, start one!

Events & Activities

Ask to volunteer and offer your help at daycare. If your time doesn’t allow it, befriend a fellow parent who can volunteer and who would keep you in the loop. Also, keep in mind that many preschools and daycares organize special events in an attempt to involve not only the parents, but the entire family. It is crucial that your family makes a conscious effort to attend these fun events and open houses to support your child.

Benefits Of Parent Involvement In Daycare

There are endless benefits to being actively engaged with where your child invests their time every day. As a parent, you can use the cognitive and behavioral strategies used by the teacher at home. When a preschool teacher gets to know a child’s parents and family better, the teacher is able to connect better with the child, which can greatly improve their performance and attitude.

Have other suggestions? Tell us how you are involved at your child’s preschool.