Question

Explain why Early childhood Educators need to collaborate and build partnerships with families.

Think of some specific strategies you will use in your practice to build partnerships with families. Describe these strategies in detail; what you would say and do to put these strategies into practice in your day-to-day work with children and families?

There are several potential barriers or challenges to positive parent-ECE relationships. Choose one barrier and describe how you could overcome it.

Explain why it is essential for ECEs to try to overcome these barriers. What might happen if these barriers are not overcome?

Answer 1

Part 1 -

It is the childhood wherein a child learn how to interact with the environment, learns how to socialise, understands from every minute action they are said not to do. At this age children need  utmost care and love. Such is provided by family members. And to nurture them more properly early childhoot educators are needed. However there should be a balanced coordination of how both parents and ECEs nurture. Without a proper coordination it will be haphazared, a child learns from tge sorrounding and not only from either parents or ECE. When proper coordination is establised, it is easy to chanalise energy into how to improve the learning outcones of the child. It will help in guiding how to turn the clay into structure. Thus there is a huge need for team work and cooperation from both the parties to get better results.

Part 2 - I, as a ECE will try to fix a time table wherein I, the family and the child take out a time every week for about 2-3 hour and try to establish a cordial relationship of trust and faith. In it, I would include tasks like games or story telling activities , focusing on child, which would give some moral learnings to the child. Such tasks will focus on enlightning the moral vales of what is right and what is wrong. It will help in building family relations and respecting everyobes view points. The child will be given the utmost priority, so that he/she remains engaged. For example - a role play by the whole family on why racism is not goid for society.  

If possible, this stratigy must be done along with a group of 3to 4 families and their child. Thus will increase engergy level of everybody and give out greater results .

Part 3 -

The most common barrier is busy schedule of families. Families are too busy in their job/ corporate life that they end up giving no time to improve interpersonal relationships. For such it is important to make parents realise the need for positive parental-ECE relationship. Such realisation can be made understood in a role play day ( as mentioned in the above part)

Part 4- It is very important to realise that if there is a gap in understanding between both the parties, it can lead to poor success of child's dsvelopment. If parents aren't able to make out time for their children's needs they aren't actually giving happiness and peace to their child. The child needs their parnets the most as they are able to feel the sence of security with them unlike ECE. Until there remains a bond between ECE and families, the child may not feel the sence of safety and security with ECE. It is important to build strong bond between child educators and families so as to help the child feel comfortable and help develop in a better way. If still the gap persists, then it can hamper the learning process, create misunderstanding between families and ECEs.