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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
Looking for a few good reasons why you should become
more involved in your child's care? Consider this.
- Parent
involvement is one of the key components of high-quality
child care.
- Participating
in the centre's or dayhome's programming makes
the facility and the caregivers more accountable
to parents.
- Increased
participation creates a forum for openness and
communication between the caregivers and the parents.
- Children
who see their parents trust and enjoy the facility
and caregivers are themselves more trusting and
willing to participate in activities.
- Knowing
more about the centre and caregivers helps parents
to feel confident in their child care arrangements.
- Children
learn by example, parent participating teaches
children the value of community involvement.
"That's
all well and good," you say, "but I don't
have a lot of time, I can't just pick up and leave
work whenever there is a field trip or theme party."
The truth is, no one expects you to.
It
is the little things that parents do to help out that
packs the biggest punch.
"Parents'
busy hands, strong backs, new ideas, and expertise
enlarge the daycare's capacity in many areas,"
says Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, co-authors
of The Daycare Handbook: A Parents' Guide to Finding
and Keeping Quality Daycare in Canada (Encouraging
Parent Participation, Interaction, Summer 1994).
You
certainly don't have to wait to be asked to help.
Caregivers and director's welcome your offers to join
the board of directors, leave little notes or interesting
articles on the bulletin board, bring in scraps of
material, wool or other craft supplies.
They
cherish your offer to be the official "cake baker"
for birthdays and holidays. They'd love for you to
show up for that Saturday morning outdoor play-yard
"face-lifting" session, or for you to attend,
even help to organize "parents' night."
And
if you enjoy puttering with your computer, you might
consider putting together a newsletter for parents
and caregivers. Certainly no one would object.
Or
you could simply spend an extra ten minutes before
or after hours to tell your caregiver how much you
appreciate her work, that silly joke you heard at
the office, or some little bit of information that
would enable her to take better care of your child.
Caregivers,
whether they work in a large centre of at home, want
you to help in whatever way you can. Participation
shows you care. It builds trust and respect. It helps
you and your caregiver meet on common ground where
no one feels intimidated or unappreciated. We all
get a little judgmental at times. It helps to remember
that you and your caregiver must work together in
harmony for the benefit of your child. Participation,
in event he simplest form, works towards that end.
It's like that warm smile at the end of a hard day
that says, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
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