Sometimes in difficult conversation with families, it can be difficult to empathize and maintain what feels like a productive conversation. Using the acronym THINK, here are some tips from Megan K. Lerner, LCSW and Anthony T. Vesco, PhD for maintaining and building a productive relationship.
As an early care and education provider, you play a critical role in the health and wellbeing of children. You are also very well positioned to help identify children who might need extra help in their development. This FREE, online training course, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns, helps you fulfill this role by providing tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with their parents.
This 1-hour, 4-module course focuses on:
- Why monitoring children’s development is important
- Why you have a unique and important role in developmental monitoring
- How to easily monitor each child’s developmental milestones
- How to talk with parents about their child’s development
Click the link to start the class: Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns | CDC
Talking to families about your concerns can be difficult. However, open communication is always best. You may suspect a delay, but after talking to parents you might find there are other underlying reason for what you have observed or you might find parents have the same concerns. This handout from the CDC can be a helpful starting point for a conversation to determine if there is a need for further assessment.
Tips for Talking with Parents about Developmental Concerns
