Know

Communicating with others can be both simple and complex at the same time. Have you ever been surprised that someone misunderstood a message you thought you had communicated quite clearly?

Communication between school-age program staff members and families occurs during daily hellos and goodbyes, as well as in more formal activities such as family meetings. All of these opportunities require you to be aware of many of the family’s characteristics, including tone, choice of words, and nonverbal communication, such as facial expressions and body language. When you are aware of these characteristics, you can better communicate in ways that are most supportive and respectful of families. Families will be eager to know how their school-age child is doing, and you can support comfortable communication by offering encouraging responses and asking for clarification if something is not understood.

与家庭沟通的重要性

Communication is key to creating family partnerships. Family members must feel comfortable asking questions, seeking information, and raising concerns about their child’s care, well-being and development. It is good to be friendly, professional and helpful when working with family members. A relationship between a staff member and a family member should remain professional and always revolve around the child.

Communication is unique in school-age programs because of the limited interactions between staff members and family. Some children may arrive or depart your program by school bus, bike, or on foot. This means you might not always have the opportunity to speak directly to a family member each day. To ensure that communication needs between yourself and the families are met, you will need to be creative in your communication methods.

与家庭沟通的方式

每个程序都将有各种通信方法，非正式和正式。根据分享的情况或信息，您需要确定哪种方法最合适。如果您不确定，请随时查看您的培训师，教练或主管。

Informal Communication Methods

非正式通信方法的一些例子包括：

• 家庭信息委员会：家庭信息委员会为在中心位置发布的家庭成员提供信息。董事会可能包含日程表，菜单，即将到来的活动和一般计划新闻。这也可以是发布育儿资源的好处。
• Daily conversations:Daily conversations involve informal communication with a child’s family member to discuss daily events, how the child is doing, and if the family member has any questions, concerns or requests.
• 通讯：一个物理或数字通讯，通知程序的新闻和事件的家庭。这将是一个分享孩子们工作的项目或告诉家庭关于即将到来的人才展的项目。
• 电话呼叫：对家庭成员的电话通知他们注意到小事或伤害，或寻求具体信息。
• 电子邮件：An e-mail to a family member informing them of a minor incident (i.e., a torn backpack or a missing permission slip) or to seek specific information. Check with your program’s e-mail policy.

这些非正式的沟通方法适合使用，当所有家庭成员都应该了解哪些家庭成员时，例如时间表，政策或即将到来的事件。电话或电子邮件可用于通知涉及其子女的情况（例如逾期许可证）。每当有可能，员工和家庭成员之间的互动应每天发生。这是在您的程序中打开通信线路的第一种方法。非正式通信方法不应用于讨论主要事件，行为问题或发育问题。

Formal Communication Methods

Some examples of formal communication methods include:

• Individual Conferences:Conferences should be used to discuss child achievement, behavior issues, developmental concerns, or other major situations. Phone or virtual conferences may also be used if a family member is on deployment or otherwise unavailable. Be sure to check your program’s procedures for conferences and consult a trainer, coach, or supervisor with any questions.
• 计划范围的家庭会议：A group meeting may be used to discuss a particular situation, concern or issue within a program. This would mostly likely occur with multiple families and would be lead by the program’s director. A formal group meeting would have a leader and a planned agenda. Check with a trainer, coach, or supervisor to learn your program’s policy on group meetings.

正式的沟通方法should be planned with the purpose of providing specific and important information. Schedule formal meetings at times that work best for families. Do not spring difficult information upon families at inconvenient times, such as during pick-up. When discussing a child’s behavior issues or other concerns you may have, it is important to remain positive, respectful, and helpful. You are there to explain your concern and provide assistance and resources to the family whenever possible.

以下是如何在正式会议期间有效地与家庭有效沟通的提示：

The family conference is a great way to strengthen the family partnership. It gives family members personal attention and allows them to freely discuss their child’s development, progress, difficulties or successes. A positive family conference will create a bond between you and the family members, which may make the family feel comfortable in discussing their child in the future.

如果合适，请邀请孩子成为会议的一部分。有时，有孩子的目前会让你更好地了解家庭动态。它也将使孩子对自己的行为感到责任，并给予他们对这种情况的更多所有权。

Finding the “Right” Time to Communicate with Families

尽管与家庭的沟通应该昂oing throughout the year, you should understand the appropriate times for certain conversations with families. For example, imagine you are having discipline problems with a child. You might feel it is appropriate to discuss this at pick-up time with the family. This approach, however, almost guarantees that the parent will shut down the conversation. He or she is tired and unprepared for the discussion. You should plan ahead for difficult conversations: how will this conversation be planned? Where and when is it best to occur? Who will be involved? When you need to discuss serious issues with families, a formal discussion should be scheduled with your trainer, lead, or supervisor. This will maximize the likelihood that all parties will be satisfied with the outcome. Parent will feel respected and able to prepare in an environment that focuses on outcomes and collaboration. This kind of outcome cannot occur at the end of the day during pick up. See the handout,与家庭分享顾虑, for additional ideas and resources.

创意通信方法

School-age programs offer unique communication challenges. As children grow, the need for communication between families and staff members changes. Unlike care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, once children enter school, the communication between staff and family members becomes less frequent and often only happens when there is a problem. Part of your role is to bridge the gap between staff and families in school-age programs by using a combination of traditional communication methods and also creative, outside the box methods. Here are some examples of creative communication methods:

• Communication journals:
  一种物理日志或在线日志，允许家庭成员分享家庭生活的信息或照片，如度假或部署经历。这些日志可以在家庭成员之间共享，以帮助在家庭之间建立联系，也可以在员工和家庭之间来回传递，以共享或寻求信息。
• 在线讨论组：
  使用在线论坛来允许自己和家庭之间的沟通。这应该仅用于组信息，而不是一个孩子的信息。您还应在互联网使用的任何规则中查看您的培训师，教练或主管。
• Blogs:
  Using an online blog to communicate the program’s activities with families is a fun way to share photos, activity plans and other information. Again, check with your coach, trainer, or supervisor for any regulations regarding internet use.

看

Watch the following videos about communicating with family members in a school-age program. In this first video, you will hear a parent and a staff member talk about communication. The second video illustrates the importance of communicating about the care of children and youth and suggests methods to do so. In the final video, you will hear from a training and curriculum specialist on creative communication.

Do

熟悉各种通信方法会让您取得成功。请记住，始终可供家庭提供支持，指导，信息或只是享受耳朵。

• 通过善良，尊重和专业，为家庭成员提供欢迎的环境。
• 通过informa每天与家人交流l and, when necessary, formal methods.
• Plan opportunities for family partnerships throughout the year.
• 在交流方面要有创造力。不要因为你没有每天见到一家人就让他们从缝隙中溜走。