Do you say hello and good-bye to each child and family member every day? What messages do you think your hellos and good-byes (or lack of them) send?

I try my absolute hardest to interact with each family and child at drop off and pickup. This shows the families and students that I acknowledge their presence and departure. Engaging in conversation will indicate to them that I want to interact because I care about them being present. If there is a lack of hello/goodbye then this may indicate that I don’t want to speak or I don’t care. This is why communication toward families and students are so important to build an evergrowing relationship of trust.

What do you think about a child who cries a lot when his parents say good-bye? How does his crying make you feel? Do you feel differently about a child who never cries at drop-off time?

When there is a child who has difficulty saying good-bye I think that the child doesn’t want to be with anyone else but their parent. Or I may think that they are nervous to be away from their parent. The crying would make me feel sad because I would feel they don’t trust me fully. I would feel different about a child who doesn’t cry because that indicates to me that they feel trust to be with me.

What might explain some parents’ attempts to leave without saying good-bye? What are they feeling? How do you feel when parents leave that way? How do the children feel?

Parents’ attempt to leave without saying goodbye can mean many different things. It can be difficult for a parent to leave the child crying so sneaking out without saying good-bye can avoid hearing the cries. The parents’ may feel guilty about leaving, but know they don’t have a choice. Parents’ could feel sad to leave their child. When parents leave that way it can be difficult to explain to the child where they went. It could be a bit easier because the child doesn’t have a choice to leave so forcing adjustment will take place. The child could feel abandoned because they don’t know when their parent is coming back.

How do you help parents reunite with their children at the end of the day? How does a parent feel when her child cries or keeps playing? How do you feel?

Reuniting at the end of the day would be the same process everyday so there is consistency and the child will know what to expect. Whether a child cries or keeps playing parents can feel guilty because they don’t want to see their child upset or if they don’t cry they feel like their child didn’t think about or notice that they were gone. I feel happy that the parent and child are back together, but hope the student is ready to come back to school the next day.