Session 1
| Site: | MoodleHUB.ca 🍁 |
| Course: | Early Learning and Child Care 30 Modules |
| Book: | Session 1 |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Thursday, 18 September 2025, 3:18 PM |
Description
Created by IMSreader
1. Session 1
Session 1: Together with Families
Introduction
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There are many combinations of people who can make up a family. Some families are led by one parent, while others are led by two; some families include step-parents; some families are led by grandparents; and so on.
family: used throughout this session to refer to those people who are significant to the child in the child’s home life
Family members may include a mother, father, grandparent, step-parent, foster parent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or any other people who form a common household.
Child care providers work hard to make child care experiences meaningful for each child. When the focus is on the child, it is easy to forget about the most significant influence in the child’s life—the child’s family. It is important for child care providers to remember that children do not come with a “how-to-raise-me” manual; therefore, parents and/or guardians are continuously in the process of learning. As a child care provider, you can play an important role in supporting parents and guardians in the development of their children.
1.1. Get Focused
Session 1: Together with Families
Getting Focused Activity: Thinking About Families
Focus
When discussing child care issues, it is important that child care providers think about the children within the framework of the family. By examining their own ideas and beliefs about families, child care providers understand how these beliefs and ideas shape their interactions with families.
Directions
Step 1: Complete the Getting Focused Activity: Thinking About Families.
Step 2: Arrange with your teacher to join a group or partner discussion where you will discuss your responses to the questions with other course participants.
Checking In
Save your completed learning activity in your course folder.
Course Completion Checklist
Have you remembered to update your Course Completion Checklist? If you haven’t already started to use the checklist, access it in the Toolkit now. Remember to update the checklist every time you work on the course.
1.2. Inquiry 1
Session 1: Together with Families
Inquiry 1: Families Are Important
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Families have a significant influence on children’s lives.
Families come in many forms. Families are people who form a common household. Some families have one parent while others have two parents; some families are blended (the result of two families coming together); some families are extended (they include aunts, uncles, or grandparents, for example); some families are traditional or nuclear (they are made up of two parents and the children they had together). In any family, the parent may be a birth mother or father, an adopted mother or father, a person appointed as a guardian, or a foster parent.
When thinking about families, it is important to remember the following:
- Families have a significant influence on children’s lives.
- Family members try to do what is best for their children with the energy and resources they have.
- Adults, when in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance, try to change if they realize change would be best for their children.
- Everyone is affected by changes in the family, such as a new baby, a grandparent coming to stay, parents separating, and so on.
- Parenting skills are developed in a variety of ways, including the following:
- from common sense
- from the parent’s experiences within a family and other experiences
- from outside sources, such as books, courses, television, newspapers, magazines, and so on
- The self-esteem of the child is closely related to the self-esteem of the parents or other significant family members.
For information about working with families, watch the video clip “Together with Families.”
Child Care Provider–Family Relationships
The family has the greatest influence on a child’s life. For children in care, the child care experience affects the child as well. It is in the best interest of the child when family members and child care providers work together as partners. Each brings something special to the relationship.
Benefits of Positive Family and Child Care Provider Relationships
Potential Barriers to Building and Maintaining Positive Family–Child Care Provider Relationships
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Everyone benefits when there is a positive relationship between families and child care providers. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes barriers can get in the way of positive relationships. Some of these barriers could be the following:
- Attitudes—Sometimes parents think that child care providers have an easy job. These parents don’t seem to value the hard work, effort, and thoughtfulness of child care providers. Sometimes, even when parents do appreciate the child care providers, they forget to express their appreciation. On the other hand, sometimes child care providers think parents don’t care enough about the children and believe parents use the child care facility as a place to “dump” their child.
- Different Values and Beliefs—Parents and child care providers may have different values and beliefs about children and parenting. These may arise from their childhood and adult experiences, as well as from their cultural understandings. For additional information about cultural understandings, see Session 2: Respecting Cultural Diversity.
- Different Priorities—Each parent wants the best for her or his child, and child care providers must be equally concerned about all the children in their care. Sometimes it may seem parents want special considerations for their child, and this can cause misunderstandings between child care providers and parents. For example, the child care facility may have a policy that children are only permitted to eat at designated times, whereas a parent may live by a philosophy that children should eat when they are hungry.
- Unclear Policies—Sometimes parents are not aware of, or are unclear about, the policies and requirements of child care programs. As a child care provider, it is critical that you check the parents’ understanding of the policies and discuss them when necessary. A parent handbook outlining the facility’s policies should be readily available for reference by child care providers and parents.
Do you know where to access a copy of the parent handbook at the child care facility where you have been working or volunteering? Ask for a copy so that you can read through the handbook. As you read the policies, try to think about them from a parent’s perspective as well as from a child care provider’s perspective.
The Role of the Child Care Provider in Developing Relationships with Families
© emin kuliyev/shutterstock
It is important for child care providers to acknowledge that barriers can exist. Child care providers need to take the initiative to break down these barriers and establish positive relationships with families.
Consider the following child care provider practices that encourage relationships with families:
- Practice 1: Examine your attitudes. Have you made assumptions about certain families without having the whole picture? Are you quick to apply blame to families rather than trying to understand challenges they face?
- Practice 2: Appreciate that there are many different ways to raise children and many different kinds of families. A child care provider’s job is not to judge, but to offer excellent care for children and, whenever possible, support for families.
- Practice 3: Let families know that their children are very important and that every child receives quality care.
- Practice 4: Show families that you are genuinely interested in their children. Notice things about each child
(for example, “Johnny was so excited about the trip to the zoo on the weekend!”).
- Practice 5: Share with families something special about the child’s day.
- Practice 6: Actively listen to family members’ concerns and opinions.
- Practice 7: Work together with families to find mutually acceptable solutions to problems.
- Practice 8: Be warm and friendly toward families. Show an interest in family members as individuals
(for example, “How are things going at your new job?”).
- Practice 9: Be sensitive and open to learning about cultural differences. Always try to learn about cultural understandings and practices from the family members. Do not rely on generalizations or stereotypes.
- Practice 10: Make sure that parents receive and understand the policies of the child care program. (Remember that it may be that not all family members read English—if necessary, find people in the community to translate.)
Reflection: Think about experiences you have had in the child care facility. How have you or other child care providers reduced barriers with families?
To gather more ideas on how barriers with families can be reduced, you may wish to discuss this reflection with a peer from your class or with child care providers working in the child care facility.
1.3. Page 2
Session 1: Together with Families
Checking My Understandings
Practices to Support Positive Relationships
Focus
Everyone benefits when families and child care providers develop a common, shared concern for the child. You have just learned ten ways child care providers can create an environment where children feel accepted, respected, and safe.
Directions
Review the earlier section, The Role of the Child Care Provider in Developing Relationships with Families. For each of the following situations, indicate which practice listed in your reading is being used. When you’ve finished, check your answers.
Note that while some of the practices may be used more than once, others might not be used at all.
Example: “Good morning,” you say to Ms. Jones as she leaves her son at child care. “You write your accounting exam this morning, don’t you? Good luck!”
Answer: Practice 8. Be warm and friendly toward families. Show an interest in family members as individuals.
- “Good morning,” you say to Mrs. Chan. “I know that it will soon be Chinese New Year. Can you help us by giving us some ideas of how we might decorate the playroom on that day?”
- A father has told you that his child’s temper tantrums are difficult to handle. Your response is, “It seems like you’re feeling very frustrated now.”
- You write a note to Marie and leave the note in an envelope in her child’s locker. It says, “Sorry I missed you today. Just wanted you to know what fun Julius had. He helped make the fruit salad for a snack. He cut up at least two whole bananas. Julius was so proud!”
- One day when dropping Yoseph off at the centre, Mrs. Habib explains that she is not Yoseph’s mom; rather, she is his legal guardian. She explains that when Yoseph’s parents died, Yoseph came to live with her. She asks if the newsletters and notes that are sent home could use the language of “parent and/or guardian.”
- When Becky arrives in the playroom to pick up her child, you say, “Hi. How is your new job going?”
- Samuel’s mother brings in a favourite traditional recipe for snack time one day. You thank her and let her know that one day soon the cook will prepare and serve the special snack.
- You share with Amanda’s step-dad, “Amanda spent a long time this afternoon standing and holding onto the side of the cupboard. I think she’ll be taking her first steps very soon.”
- When Mike’s grandmother arrives, she finds you and your co-workers talking to and playing with the children.
- Ruben has asked to talk to you about his child’s picky eating habits. You say, “I’d like to talk about Jessie’s eating, too. I bet we can come up with some ideas together to get Jessie to eat a variety of foods.”
- When Paula’s mother asks you to give Paula an over-the-counter medication, you say that you really would like to help but the policy of the centre is that staff cannot give medicine to children unless it is prescribed by a doctor and the appropriate form is completed.
- You are feeling a bit annoyed at Sheera’s mother because this is the third time she did not bring mittens for outdoor play. Then you wonder if the family is having some financial difficulty and whether you can find a pair of mittens in the lost-and-found box.
- Martin returns after a vacation and announces to you that he now has five new sisters and brothers. He thinks this is cool, especially since several of them are older than him.
Stresses Faced by Families
Families today face many stresses. When families are under stress, it can be difficult to meet the needs of the children in the best way possible. Quality child care that is supportive of families can have a positive impact on children and families.
Given that families face stressful issues, it is critical that child care providers do not judge or stereotype. It is important for child care providers to understand that the challenges facing a family may make it harder for them to meet their child’s needs.
Stressful issues might include the following:
- Divorce—Some marriages end in divorce, and it is likely you will work with children whose parents are separated. Although many parents try to protect their children while going through a divorce, it can be extremely difficult for parents to pay close attention to the child’s needs under such stress.
- Blended Families—Some parents who divorce remarry. This means many children live in blended families. Blending families together takes adjustment. This time of adjustment can be stressful for all family members.
- Single Parenting—Some children in Canada live in single-parented families. Some (not all) single parents face financial difficulties. Others can be overwhelmed at handling childrearing responsibilities alone. While it seems to be more common to think single-parented families are led by mothers, it is important to recognize that there are also many fathers single-parenting children.
- Young Parents—Just like all parents, teen parents try their best to be good parents. Sometimes teen parents require extra support and knowledge about how to provide the best care for their children.
- Children with Special Needs—Families of a child with special needs often pull together and provide a support network to each other. Having a child with severe special needs can place strain on the family.
- Poverty—Poverty can affect family life. For some, poverty may mean accessing community support, such as food banks or second-hand clothing outlets. This may affect the self-esteem of all family members.
- Employment—Shift work can complicate family life and childrearing. Parents who work evening or night shifts may have insufficient sleep because they are caring for children during the day.
- Immigration—Canada proudly welcomes immigrants from all around the world, and has done so for many generations. A great number of Canadians are from families who immigrated here, whether recently or several generations ago. The first few years after immigrating to a new country can be very challenging. Learning the language, understanding cultural and societal practices, finding employment, and missing friends, family, and other supports, among other things, can be stressful.
- Job Stress—Some people suffer stress at work from being overworked, from fearing job loss, or from some other cause. Many families want to spend more time with their children and less time at work, so it can become stressful when family members find there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
Problem Solving with Families
Child care providers can work together with family members and with co-workers at the child care centre to find mutually acceptable solutions to challenges. The steps for problem solving with families are as follows:
Step 1: Use active listening when the parent or family member is expressing a concern or problem. For example, Shari’s mom is angry and expressing concerns that Shari doesn’t eat at the centre.
Step 2: Define the problem. Rather than making judgements or blaming, try to identify the problem without focusing on who is involved. For example, the problem isn’t that Shari’s mom is angry; it is that Shari may not be eating at the centre.
Step 3: Generate some possible solutions to the problem with the parent or family member. For example, you could say, “What are some foods that Shari likes?” Maybe Shari’s mom can try giving her food at home that is similar to the food at the child care centre. Alternatively, the child care centre might try serving something similar to what Shari eats at home.
Step 4: Evaluate the solutions. This step involves looking at the positives and negatives of each strategy. Ask yourself and the parent what part of each strategy would or would not work. It can be helpful to write down your thoughts on each strategy.
Step 5: Decide which solutions to try. If you are working with a group, the decision can be made by consensus. For example, “Shari’s mom is going to bring in lunch a few days a week for the next little while to see how that works out.” It’s important to see this solution as a trial. If it doesn’t work or its effectiveness wears off, try a different solution or begin the process again.
Adapted from Ellen Galinsky. “We can do it!” Young Children 44:4 (1989): 2–3. Reprinted with permission of Ellen Galinsky, Co-president, Families and Work Institute.
Course Completion Checklist
Have you remembered to update your Course Completion Checklist? If you haven’t already started to use the checklist, access it in the Toolkit now. Remember to update the checklist every time you work on the course.
1.4. Learning Activity 1
Session 1: Together with Families
Learning Activity 1: Problem Solving Together
Focus
Learning to use problem-solving techniques takes practice. Remember that active listening sets the stage and is necessary for problem solving.
This is a two-part learning activity. In Part A you will work through the problem-solving steps in relation to a problem (real or fictitious) from your life. Part B will focus on solutions for stresses faced by families.
Directions
Step 1: Complete Learning Activity 1: Problem Solving Together.
Step 2: Review the Student Rubric for Learning Activity 1: Problem Solving Together. Assess the quality of your work and make any necessary adjustments.
Checking In
Save your completed learning activity and your self-assessment in your course folder.
1.5. Inquiry 2
Session 1: Together with Families
Inquiry 2: Connections to the Community
Sometimes families require support and assistance. When families describe problems or needs for services, child care providers need to be aware of possible sources of help and support in the community.
In most communities there are resources available to assist families and child care providers. Some services may be specifically for children, while others may be specific to families or adults.
The following questions help child care providers determine whether a community agency and its services are appropriate:
- Is the cost of using the service fixed or is the cost based on income?
- Can anyone access the service or must children and families meet specific criteria?
- Does the agency staff providing the service have expertise working with young children and their families?
- How do families access the service?
- Is there a waiting list? If so, how does a child or family get on the list?
- What type of services does the agency offer?
Resources for children and families in need in your community might include the following:
- Parent Link Centre website. Search for this website and watch “Virtual Tour of Parent Link Centre.”
- public health nurse
- parks and recreation
- family and community support services
- public library
- toy-lending library
- women’s shelter
- city hall
- police services
- parent support groups
- family resource centres
- parent resource centres
- food bank
- community kitchen
- clothing depot
- child and family services authority
1.6. Learning Activity 2
Session 1: Together with Families
Learning Activity 2: Community Resources
Focus
This learning activity will help you become more familiar with agencies providing support to children and families in your community.
Directions
Important: If you are not meeting with the agency representatives in person, ask the representatives to mail brochures, flyers, and so on to you, or download this information from their websites.
Step 1: Contact two or more community resources in your area that offer services for young children or families. Arrange a convenient time to speak with a representative from each organization.
Step 2: In your interview with each representative, gather the information required to complete Learning Activity 2: Community Resources.
Step 3: Complete Learning Activity 2: Community Resources.
Step 4: Review the Student Rubric for Learning Activity 2: Community Resources. Assess the quality of your work and make any necessary adjustments.
Checking In
Save your completed learning activity and your self-assessment in your course folder.
1.7. Inquiry 3
Session 1: Together with Families
Inquiry 3: Enhancing Communication with Families
© Slash331/shutterstock
There are many ways that child care providers can communicate with parents and other family members. Consider the following methods of communication.
Newsletters
Newsletters can be sent home on a regular basis; for example, once a month or four times a year. Newsletters may include information about the centre, information about the different age groups, information for parents, such as on preventing the spread of germs, and so on. Newsletters should be written in easy-to-read language and should include information from parents as well. Information about community resources could also be included.
Bulletin Boards
In child care settings, bulletin boards are often intended for adults. They should be pleasing to the eye and located in a spot where they are easily seen by parents. Bulletin boards should be clearly labelled so parents know that the information is for them. The information should be updated regularly and can include items such as community events, health tips, and news about the child care program. Pamphlets, articles, or recipes with a sign inviting parents to help themselves might also be included.
Parents may also want to post information on the bulletin board. Always respect confidentiality by never posting information that is private or better delivered in person.
Communication Books
A communication book is often used by parents and child care providers to share information between home and the centre. A special communication book for each child can be delightful, but it can also be a burden. Remember that not all parents have time to keep a communication book current, and some parents may be concerned about their writing skills.
When communication books are used, consider the following:
- Provide children with a small notebook that is easily brought back and forth from home to the centre.
- Write clearly about the child’s day. Include questions for parents such as, “Did Johnny tell you about the new climber at the centre?” Ask parents for information about family events.
- Respect confidentiality and avoid pressuring parents to use this form of communication if they do not want to do so.
Written Notes
Sometimes a quick note to parents—left in a child’s cubbyhole, for example—is appreciated. Information as simple as what the children ate for lunch or about a special field trip gives parents something to talk about with their children.
Child Care Centre Design
Make the child care centre inviting for parents. A welcome sign in the playroom lets parents know they are not intruding. A parent corner with books, pamphlets, and posters is a clear sign that the centre welcomes the parents.
1.8. Learning Activity 3
Session 1: Together with Families
Learning Activity 3: Communicating with Families
Focus
This learning activity will help you become more familiar with methods and strategies for improving relationships and communications with families.
This is a two-part learning activity. In the first part, you will observe ways in which families are welcomed in a variety of community settings. In the second part, you will create either a bulletin board or newsletter to communicate with families.
Directions
Step 1: Go to areas in your community where families go; for example, you might visit a school, child care facility, community centre, church, hospital, parenting club, swimming pool, and so on. Observe how families are welcomed in each of these places. Remember that failing to welcome a family also sends a message.
Step 2: Complete Learning Activity 3: Communicating with Families.
Step 3: Review the Student Rubric for Learning Activity 3: Communicating with Families. Assess the quality of your work and make any necessary adjustments.
Checking In
Save your completed learning activity and your self-assessment in your course folder.
1.9. Session 1 Summary
Session 1: Together with Families
Session Summary
Review Session 1 to prepare for writing the quiz. As you review, note the sections that connect with the following points:
- The greatest influence on a child is the family. As a child care provider, it is important that you work in partnership with families to ensure that each child’s needs are being met.
- It is important to understand challenges families can face and to not be judgemental.
- A positive relationship with the family is essential to a quality child care experience.
- By talking with the family, you learn about the child’s home environment and the child’s likes and dislikes.
- When the family talks with the child care provider, family members find out how the child’s days are spent and they learn more about the child’s interests and concerns and how to respond to them at home.
- Child care providers can also share with family members valuable information about child development or ideas for dealing with certain types of behaviour. This information is helpful to parents in raising their children.
- When families and child care providers work together, the environments of both the home and the child care program are enriched and become more supportive of the child.
- It is important to understand the barriers to positive relations between families and child care providers.
- It is important to work at reducing barriers to open communication.
- Problem-solving techniques should be used to work out differences between families and child care providers.
- There are many ways to enhance communication between parents and child care providers, including
bulletin boards, newsletters, notes, and parent corners.
Session Quiz
Checking In
Contact your teacher to decide together when and where you will complete the Session 1 Quiz.