Parents and carers

Parents

A child's immediate family is central to their being. Early childhood professionals can help strengthen the parental bond, even while children are in childcare.

The Interest Forest recognises that Australian families are diverse. This page is for all parents and carers, including those who don't identify as a mum or dad. Also see our topic on grandparents, who can be primary caregivers.

Learning about parents and carers links with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This topic helps children connect with people (4.4), become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing (3.1), and feel safe, secure and supported (1.1).

Help children connect with their parents and carers

  • Ask difficult questions about family dynamics when a child is enrolled. Where appropriate, build relationships with all parents and carers from the beginning. Share information with parents who are involved in the child's life but cannot visit the service.
  • Where appropriate, help children interact (via video, phone or letter) with parents who live a long distance away (e.g. a mother who works overseas, a dad who is a FIFO worker).
  • Involve all parents and carers in your program equally, even the ones who are quiet or different to you.
  • Hold events throughout the year and invite families to attend. Brainstorm ideas for events that make people feel comfortable and included.
  • Share artwork, journals, learning stories and photos with parents and carers. Early childhood professionals do so much paperwork, don't hide it away in folders. Find a system that works for you and share it with the children's most important people.
  • Create interesting and welcoming spaces for families to talk and play with their children. Turn unused indoor space into a "parents nook" or create a "family garden" outside.
  • Have an open door policy and don't rush families out the door. Encourage parents to play with toys and read books with their children, especially resources they may not have at home.

How to celebrate special events

Special days for parents, like Mother's Day and Father's Day, can be stressful for families (including non-binary parents, children with a parent who has passed away, and foster children).

The Interest Forest has conducted research into the opinions of early childhood professionals in Australia. Many childcare services don't celebrate these days (or they let the children initiate the card making and gift giving), but there is also widespread opinion that these days should not be replaced with a generic title.

How would a mother with postnatal depression feel if she receives a "special person's card" or if her husband also receives a Father's Day card on a day that is historically reserved for mothers?

Educators can take the right approach by getting to know their families. Celebrating these days will be completely inappropriate in some communities but welcomed in others. And a child with a single mother will not arrive home with a Father's Day card if educators adapt the learning experience for each child.

Alternative days of celebration

Discussions

Talk with children about the special people in their lives. All children need people to care for them and help them grow. Who do you live with? Who are the most important people to you?

Reflections

The report Love (still) makes a family by Rainbow Families NSW shares real experiences parents have had with education services in Australia. Could any of these situations happen at your service?

  • "I’ve had to explain my family countless times to staff who have no training in diversity and have no idea how a child can have same-sex parents. It’s awkward at best."
  • "All the books reflect heterosexual families – I had to request resources that reflected diverse family structures – they purchased one book."
  • "Despite thinking they’re inclusive, carers who have little exposure to the LGBTQI+ community make massive assumptions about the type of parenting same-sex parents give their children. In my case they assumed our son did not have access to parents who roughhoused because we were both women."
  • "They couldn’t cope when I was transitioning. They were not rude, but it was this awkward silence."

Resources

The Raising Children website

Music