12 Things Preschool Providers Will Like Parents to Know
When I came to this country in 2005, it was hard for me to switch from teaching from elementary children to adults, to start teaching preschoolers. I never knew how difficult, and challenging was going to be, not because of the children, but because of the parents.
Even now, when I’ve been a preschool director for the past 10 years, I still see the same challenges that I saw when I first started, and how teachers struggle to deal with parents who most of the time don’t appreciate their hard work or think that they don’t have to help because they are paying for their children care.
I’m not trying to offend anybody, but there are certain major things that I would like preschool parents to know, hoping that it will enlighten them a little bit about what is a preschool teacher, what a preschool teacher can do, and which are the parents’ responsibilities and reasonable expectations.
Things Parents Need to Know
1. Preschool teachers are not babysitters.
Preschool teachers get offended when they are called babysitters. Preschool teachers are professionals specially trained to teach preschool children, and some of them have associate, bachelor, or even master’s degrees. They are working in early childhood because they love little kids.
2. Preschool teachers are not responsible for washing your children’s clothes or any of their belongings.
If a child soiled his or her clothes, we are required to dump the feces on the toilet, but teachers cannot contaminate their sinks. Parents should receive the soiled clothes in a plastic bag, but it is their responsibility to wash them at home.
3. Parents should not try to put providers in the middle of their drama.
Whatever parents have going on at home has nothing to do with the childcare center or its teachers. Legally, the only way providers can stop a parent from picking up a child is if we receive a copy of a court order. That’s it. As long as a parent is in the child’s enrollment packet, we cannot forbid that parent to come into the facility and take the child, or be in the middle of their legal battle.
4. Parents should not be outraged if their child gets scratched, hit, or even bitten and demand for their child to be by the teacher’s side at all times.
Preschool teachers do their best to keep all of their children safe, but children need to run, ride tricycles and go up the slide. That is an integral part of their learning and growth process. Ultimately, that happens when they are with their parents too, right?
5. Parents need to understand that rules and regulations are the same for everybody, are put in place for a reason, and that preschool providers cannot accommodate parents, just because.
Some of these rules and regulations are dictated by the Child Care Licensing Office and some by the school. Parents should get informed by reading their parent’s handbook and asking questions, to know which things they should expect from the child care center and which are their responsibilities.
6. Preschool teachers cannot give individual attention to a specific child all the time.
Teachers try hard to provide individualized attention to every child for a few minutes every day. They even do individual lesson plans to make sure that all their children receive the education they need, but they have many children under their care. They cannot ignore the rest of them, and just take care of a parent’s particular child, change policies, or disrupt their plans to accommodate a particular family.
7. Parents should never bring a sick child to school.
Many parents give Tylenol to their child to cover that he or she a fever and have to be called when the medicine runs out and the child develops fever again. It is not fair for the rest of the children, and it is the parent’s responsibility to inform the providers when their child is sick and keep him or her at home.
8. Parents need to pay their fees on time.
Child care is a business and to be able to offer quality care, a child care center needs to be able to pay its bills and teachers, so they can pay their bills. Providers have the right to charge in advance, and also add late fees if parents are late picking up their children, or paying their tuition fee, even when their child is absent (we are still holding up their child’s spot).
9. Parents should bring clean children to school, and that includes a clean diaper.
It is not the responsibility of preschool teachers to practically bathe a child with a paper towel because the child came to school filthy or change his or her diaper because the parent brought the child with a soiled diaper or the same diaper that the child went to bed with. In the same way that parents expect and deserve to receive their child with a clean face, hands, and diaper, preschool teachers are also expecting the same consideration from the parents.
10. Parents should know that preschool education cannot be complete if there’s not a partnership between teachers and parents.
Teachers should share their concerns and evaluations with the parents, and give them ideas on how to work with their children at home, and parents should ask questions, read teachers’ notes and communicate their observations and concerns to their child’s teachers. It will be in their child’s best interest and will help their child learn, grow and develop better and more complete, than what he or she will be able to do if only the teacher is working.
11. Parents should bring the supplies requested by their child’s teacher on time.
This may include extra clothes, diapers, photos, etc. Most preschoolers have “accidents” once in a while (some of them daily!), and teachers can’t keep them dressed and clean if they don’t have the clothes or diapers to do it. Also, when a teacher asks parents to bring something, it’s because they need it to develop their lesson plans, not just because.
12. Parents should remember that preschool teachers do not get paid enough for the incredible job they do.
They get paid much less than many jobs with less training and responsibility. In the same way, parents take the time to complain and demand, they also need to take the time to recognize their child’s teacher and remember to give her at least a smile, a hug, and a “thank you”, and not just during Teacher’s Appreciation Week.
Last Thoughts
We know how hard and hectic the life of our parents can be, especially now with the pandemic raging across this country. We also understand that all parents need to work and cannot take days off to take care of their children. We know because we are parents, aunts, sisters, and grandparents too.
Some of us could be doing another kind of job where we could be making so much money, but teaching young kids is a choice made out of love for these young souls, and because of the satisfaction and happiness we feel when they reach another milestone.
It is not an easy job. It is a very hard, complicated, and delicate job because it is our responsibility to build up the foundation for those children to be able to develop the necessary skills for a healthy and complete learning process, so they can be successful, feel equipped, and confident in the future.
An additional thing you need to know is that we appreciate you and trust us with your little treasure. We do not take lightly that you choose us to be part of your child’s journey. It is a privilege and an honor to be able to provide care for your child, and your child’s little face is the reason why we come to school every day.
I’ve created some FREE inspirational printables to let you know how much I appreciate you for taking your time and being here with me. Please click on the link below to get them.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
