Parental Involvement in Early Years Setting - Term Paper Example

Parental Involvement in Early Years Setting Parents are the primary care providers who have a lot of influence in the process of child growth and development. The influence of parents on their individual children continues to exhibit even in the adulthood period of the given children. Parental involvement refers to the participation of parents in every facet of children’s growth, development and education processes, given that parents are the primary or basic influencers of their children’s life. Parental involvement in children’s growth and development especially during the early years of life has been an important subject in education and children’s development. In most cases, children who enjoy significant parent involvement during early years of life exhibit positive and proper growth and development later in teenage years and adulthood. Children who receive little or limited parental input in their early lifetime tend to exhibit negative and misdirected development and growth during their teenage and adult life. Practitioners tend to face some barriers in their efforts of encouraging parental involvement in early life settings of the children. However, considering the importance of involvement of parents, practitioners have devised strategies to overcome any barriers against parental involvement. Importance of Parental Involvement in Early Years Settings of Children Parental involvement in early year settings of their children bears much importance to all the participants in shaping the early development of a child. To begin with, involvement enhances the relationship between parents and their children (Bett 2009, pg. 5). This fosters proper emotional, social and intellectual development of children. Involvement of parents in the early years setting of children supplies knowledge about development of children and provides opportunities for positive reinforcement, which in turn reduces punishments on children for misbehaving (Share, Kerrins & Greene 2011, pg 4). Another benefit of parental involvement relates to the ability of parents to understand and appreciate the work of service providers, which can motivate practitioners to improve the quality and level of care. Lancaster (2008) adds that involvement of parents in early years of life helps in enforcing directions that will reduce the possibility of a child being subject to special education or remedial programmes that may be expensive. Furthermore, parental involvement in early stages of children’s development ensures training of children about good social skills that can enhance safety and security of the children later as they develop into teenage and adulthood (Peck 2014). Possible Barriers Practitioners Face Regarding Parental Involvement Practitioners responsible for caring for children during early years face many barriers that impede parental involvement in the early years of children’s development. One of the barriers relates to negative emotions. Some parents tend to fear the possibility of judgment by practitioners or other parents (Cable, Miller & Goodliff 2012, pg. 57). Some parents also fear involving in the early years of their children’s development because of exposing their emotions such as hot temper and easy irritability in public. They fear that this can misrepresent them in the society where they live, and even lead to their isolation. Emotional barriers also cover feelings of undereducation that make individual parents assume that they are incapable of delivering reasonable and intellectual content in meetings. Interest is another barrier that practitioners tend to face in their attempts to encourage involvement of parents in the early life of children. Interest barriers involve issues such as parents lacking information about parental engagement (Wherry 2013). Parents exhibiting such barrier may not be understanding the meaning of parental involvement and lack someone to consult (Burton & Taggart 2011, pg. 81). Interest barriers are also characterised by parents not understanding the engagement process, and their roles when engaged. Interest barriers faced by practitioners regarding parental engagement also suggest that parents do not understand the value, purpose or relevance of involvement to their children (Ho & Kwong 2013, pg. 8). Practitioners face mistrust barriers from parents regarding parental involvement in the early years of children development. Mistrust or suspicion may develop due to experiences that involved conflict or failure. Mistrust may also develop when parents feel that practitioners will not value and act on their views (Robins & Callan 2008, pg. 71). Some parents may lack belief in the listening and expression skills of staff. Some parents become suspicious and avoid appearing to need help from the staff. When attempting to involve parents, practitioners face language and skill barriers. Some parents are illiterate and may encounter a problem filling forms and questionnaires and reading information on leaflets (Grayson 2013, pg. 4). Ineffective communication skills are another aspect of language and skill barriers that practitioner encounter as impediments of parental involvement. Parents with ineffective communication skills encounter problems speaking in multitude, negotiating or resolving problems (Allen, Cowdery & Johnson 2012, pg. 39). Language barriers affecting people of minority language groups encounter challenges in communicating in groups and with practitioners. Strategies Practitioners Use to Promote Parent Partnership According to Lancaster (2008), one of the strategies used by practitioners to reinforce parental involvement in early years of children development is effective communication that enhances self-esteem and confidence. Practitioners who have experience in issues related to parental involvement avoid using terms such as support and help, struggling when communicating lest parents feel judged and withdrawn. Another strategy employed by experienced practitioners involves asking parents about the necessary changes that can make services more appealing and friendly to encourage engagement of other parents (Jones & pound 2008, pg. 116). Experienced practitioners have also considered enabling parents to express their needs as important strategy in encouraging involvement of the latter. With this strategy, practitioners assist parents in prioritizing issues that they can control and in the process provide guidance on effective actions to overcome barriers (Wheeler & Connor 2010). Practitioners have also used recognition strategies to promote parental involvement in early years of their children (Porter 2011, pg. 58). Part of recognition of practitioners towards parents includes praises on parents alongside acknowledging positive inputs in the involvement process (Laverick & Jalongo 2011, pg. 187). Experienced practitioners also tend to celebrate even the smallest steps are made by parents, and in the process manage to bolster and strengthen confidence and belief that parents have about themselves. This works to foster respectful and trustful relationships that motivate participation (Snow & Van Hemel 2008, pg. 67). To overcome mistrust or suspicion barriers, experienced practitioners have tended to spend more time within the communities of operation to enhance interaction, ensure adequate time for mutual understanding and alleviate fears. Porter (2008, pg. 16) explains that practitioners have also employed the use of respectful and non-threatening language that recognise values and contributions of parents towards services. Waddel and McBride (2008, pg. 13) reiterate that practitioners have ensured that languages used in advertisements and leaflets are safe and do not depict parents as desperate and needing help to cope with their children. Part of strategies by practitioners to promote participation of parents in the involvement of their children’s development has included use of pictures and printed texts to overcome language barriers (Barbarin & Wasik 2009, pg. 86). Practitioners have employed services of translators who facilitate communication with parents of a minority language background. Some practitioners have embraced organisation of short workshops intended to offer off-service support to parents, create familiarity, improve confidence and trust, and reinforce problem-solving skills among parents (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni 2007, pg. 11). Conclusion Parents are the closest friends of their children during early development and have great influence on the direction of future development and conducts of their children. Parental involvement that includes participation of parents in every facet of children’s development is important in various ways. Among the benefits are enhanced intellectuality and problem-solving and decision-making skills. Practitioners dealing with children tend to face barriers in efforts to encourage parent involvement. However, practitioners have devised many strategies and techniques that have helped in overcoming and domination of the barriers to ensure effective promotion of parental involvement. References Allen, K. E., Cowdery, G. 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