21.5.1: Talking Through Developmental Delays with Parents in a Family Childcare
- Page ID
- 197629
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As families enroll their children, ask them to fill out a “Get to Know Your Family” form. This allows the teacher/provider to have some insight into how to partner with the family to assist with their child’s growth and development. Next you would share milestones to make families aware of development at different ages and stages. Building a relationship with each family is important and having daily conversations about their child’s day and checking in about how home life is going is helpful. Using a check mark system for the child’s development allows teachers/providers to utilize activities to match age and stage of development while their child is in your care. There are times when you might notice that a child is not progressing in development, the teacher/provider can then ask families to try different activities at home to support their child’s development in a specific area. Sometimes the child shows progress and other times the teacher/provider may need to have a gentle conversation with the family to help them be aware of the delays they are noticing. These are difficult (not so easy) conversations to have.
Start off by asking the family to observe certain areas of development that the child is successful at. And then add the ones that the teacher/provider is concerned about. A few weeks later, make an appointment with the family to talk about their child’s development. Using both teacher/ provider and family member’s lenses to share what abilities are seen. Then talk about the areas that are not developing at the rate we would like to see. Next, share ideas to assist with the specific area of development. Schedule a follow up meeting for a few weeks later to carry the conversation further. It is not easy for families to hear that their child is not developing on target. Do some check-ins during drop off and pick up through the weeks to be able to answer any questions they might have.
Start to prepare for that gentle conversation by having some tools (see resources) ready to share with the family. These conversations can be uncomfortable to have for you and/ or the family. The family and teacher/provider share observations and then if there is not much progress, share the next steps. The teacher/provider can refer the family to get an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) done through the local Regional Center. The teacher/provider would let them know that they are there to support them along the way. Let them know that they will be checking back with them to see if they have questions and how the process is going. In some cases, the teacher/provider could work with the family to fill out the paperwork needed to get the process started. The professionals will lead us in the direction of supporting their child’s development. The teacher/provider will continue to provide rich learning experiences for the child the best they know how and if their child needs more support this is the best avenue to go in getting that for them.