I'm rubbish at parent meetings!!

[claireodon]

Have had too much time on my hands to reflect on the parent meeting I had yesterday and have come to the conclusion that I am rubbish at parent meetings :eek: In fairness, I have only had 2 so I guess it is trial and error but I just think I need to sell myself more to parents rather than treating it like a bit of a chat. :laughing: I find this hard though - do other people? I am aware that in the meetings I have had I have just generally had a chat with the parents, played with the children, asked about their childcare needs and answered any questions they have. What do other people do? Should I be more pro-active and start off by giving them a bit of spiel telling them all about me and my setting?

[Blackhorse]

I think it all comes down to good preparation and experience!!
The more you have the more confidence you will get!!

So far i had only 1 parent meeting but I felt it went reasonably well for the first one.

I invited her in, she got coffee, we settled her LO, playing with my dd, tour of the house and garden..then I played with both kids on the floor while talking to her..
chatting about what she needs, when from, what times...all the important stuff.
then I tell her about things we do, arts, crafts, baking, food, outings etc.
then I tell her a bit about me. so she knows a bit more about the person potentially looking after her kid
I show her my certificates (from CC, first aid, insurance, training etc)
then I give her a pack to take away (about 7 pages) with my aims and objectives, a few pages of frequently asked questions (like opening hours, numbers registered, what is included in fees, care for sick kids...all these things) and then I give her 3-4 of my most important policies like child protection, payment policy..as a kind of taster...)
She also gets a menu and my fees plus my business card with details of my homepage to look at at home with partner/husband..to have another think about it
and of course I let her ask any questions she might have

that worked quite well I find, but next time I will add at the end that they need to let me know if they want the place by a certain date or I cannot guarantee the place...(as I am stil waiting to hear from this one )

[Tatjana]

I think what you did was quite right, it's difficult to know what parents may want to see on the first visit, you don't want to scare them off with too much information to look through. An informal chat sounds ideal!:thumbsup:

xx

[sue m]

I think what you did was quite right, it's difficult to know what parents may want to see on the first visit, you don't want to scare them off with too much information to look through. An informal chat sounds ideal!:thumbsup:

xx

I agree, you can do a bit of both. x

[Daddy Day Care]

Not had no parent meetings yet but really not looknig forward to them.

Im great with children but can be quite shy and quiet around adults I dont know (thats why I dont post much on here lol). I'm really not looking forward to meeting parents for the first time, just hope they see how good im am with there child rather than how shy I am with them.

Gareth
xx

[Daftbat]

I think it can depend very much upon the parents themselves. Sometimes a chat and informal information is all that is required but other parents are more formal and will appreciate you setting out your stall as it were.

I have always introduced myself in a way by telling them how long i have been minding and highlighted things like extra qualifications i have attained to do with childcare.

Keep a folder with your certificates in with your references and parents will be impressed by this type of thing anyway.

Don't beat yourself up about it either - as you said you have had too much time on your hands and have basically pulled yourself to bits by the sound of it - for no good reason i am sure!:thumbsup:

[Mollymop]

As Penny says. DOn't worry too much, it does become alot easier in time. xx