How can child care centers build trust with parents through communication?

In ChildFriendly Pro's October 2025 Director Lunch & Learn, child care operator Krystal Churcher explained that centers build parent trust through transparency, consistency, empathy, responsiveness and respect, and recommended that difficult conversations happen in a private setting, never at the door at pickup, with the facts prepared, a solution ready and a follow-up date set, such as a check-in two weeks later.

What the session covered

Parent communication in child care covers the daily updates, proactive news, incident reporting and difficult conversations through which a center keeps families informed about a child's day. In this Director Lunch & Learn, hosted by the Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs (ACE) and sponsored by ChildFriendly Pro, Krystal Churcher described communication as the foundation of every family and operator partnership, noting that families are apart from their children for most of the day and rely on the center to close that gap. Churcher cited figures from her slides, without naming a source, stating that families who feel in the loop are 70% more likely to recommend a service and that 89% of families prefer proactive updates over hearing from educators only when issues arise. Churcher linked the topic to enrollment, noting that many centers report enrollment becoming more competitive. Common challenges she named were information overload versus too little information, emotional conversations, cultural and language barriers, inconsistent messaging between team members, and balancing digital with face-to-face communication.

How should educators handle a difficult conversation with a parent?

Churcher set out a sequence for tough conversations. She advised going in regulated, calm and empathetic, so emotion does not drive the conversation. Bring a director, supervisor or another staff member for support and to keep the conversation respectful. Prepare the facts and anticipate the parent's questions; it is acceptable to book the conversation for the next day to speak with other staff first. Choose a private setting where other parents, staff and the child cannot overhear, not the front door at pickup or drop-off. Lead with empathy and acknowledge that the parent and center are on the same team supporting the child. Stay solution-focused by arriving with a plan or next steps, including any support requested at home. Finally, follow up: document the conversation, set a date to revisit progress, for example in two weeks, and show accountability. In a scenario where an educator raised challenging behavior abruptly at pickup and the parent felt blamed, Churcher advised planning the conversation in advance, opening with positives, offering observations rather than judgment, and inviting the parent's input.

How do centers keep staff messaging to parents consistent?

Churcher cited a slide figure stating that centers which actively train staff in communication techniques see a 25% reduction in parent complaints. Her recommendations for team alignment were to hold internal communication through a daily briefing before opening or an app for staff notes, to ensure all educators use consistent language for describing incidents and the program, and to give staff a two to three minute elevator speech about the program's philosophy, structure and day. She said staff should also know their role and what level of information they can share after an incident. She recommended ongoing professional development on sensitive conversations, cultural awareness and tone, using role-play or mentorship from senior staff, and including communication goals in team meetings. In her handover scenario, one educator told a parent the child had a rough day and another said the day went really well, leaving the parent confused. Churcher advised replacing vague labels with factual wording about what was observed, and summarizing the overall tone, such as a few tricky moments but overall a good day.

How should child care centers tell parents about an incident?

In Churcher's incident scenario, a child had a minor playground injury in the morning and an incident form was completed, but the parent was not told and discovered a bruise at home, leaving them feeling blindsided. She emphasized that parents should always hear about incidents from the team first rather than discover them later, and that intentionally withholding information erodes trust and can make parents question whether the environment is safe. She said operators should write clear internal procedures that state who communicates an incident, whether the lead educator, supervisor or director, and how, whether through the app, a form the family signs at pickup, or a phone call. Staff should be trained on that process so it holds even at busy pickup times. Churcher added that app-based reporting should not replace face-to-face communication when an incident is more serious and the parent needs reassurance. She cited a slide figure stating that families receiving both in-person and app-based communication report 23% higher engagement in their child's learning.

Parent communication practices from the session

How ChildFriendly Pro automates this

The session described incidents being missed during busy pickups when updates rely on memory and paper forms; at 24:48 Wayne Chen of ChildFriendly Pro described parent app notifications for instant messages, journals, and incident and illness reports that parents acknowledge and sign digitally, plus center notifications when parents update their information, as part of ChildFriendly Pro's parent communication tools.

Next steps

• Register for the next Director Lunch & Learn for child care leaders
• Parent communication app with messaging, daily feeds and digital incident reports
• Free daily communication checklist for child care educators
• Book a ChildFriendly Pro demo

Official sources

• Ontario Ministry of Education: How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years