What's Your Best Tip for Good Parent/child Care Provider Communication?

I brought my 3-month old to a women who did in-home childcare. The communication between us along with the excellent care she provided were what made it okay. She basically gave me a run down of his entire day every time I picked him up, he was with her from 3 months - 18 months. She told me what he ate, if he pooped, if he was unusually upset about something, if she fed him something new or different, if he napped or not, how he interacted with the other kids, if they went outside or for a walk and where they went, if someone came to visit, if they did a craft or read a story. She took care of about 5 kids. The women loved what she did and loved to talk, lol! Bottom line...I would so much prefer over communication than little to none. Some parents will want more info than others, I was one of those parents.
*She sent home a monthly calendar that she did with the kids, the kids put stickers on important holidays or bday's, I thought that was a nice idea.

As a parent, I love the daily "What I did Sheets" and the chit-chat at drop off and pick up.
I also really value the quarterly planned, Parent/teacher meetings. Only 30 min, but gave the teacher a time to show me my child's work. Talk about their development, what the class was working on and how they are tailoring or engaging my child in the work. It also helps to know how my kiddo is interacting with the others in the class and where their social/emotional is struggling and tips on how we as a family can reinforce at home what is being done at school.

Please know that my kids' child care teachers did this beginning as infants. Not just older children. I think that is important to note for any child care provider.
Oh, I love getting pictures of my children engaged in an activity, or playing. That visual was always great - even if just printed on a piece of paper:)

What about a weekly 1 page newsletter, with lines on the bottom for the provider to fill in nap, elimination, and intake information?

Door signs are nice, but some people don't remember events coming up unless they have something written down.....

My 4 year old attends preschool and I have been impressed with the communication of her teacher. Here is what she has done:
1- printed out info page when preschool started with all policies, her contact info, "syllabus" and monthly printed out calendars with info about upcoming events. I always know what the show and tell is going to be, I am aware of book orders, class parties, field trips and birthdays well ahead of time.
2- Text and or email reminders. She asked ahead of time if email or text was better for parents and we will get messages that remind if book orders are due or about show and tell.
3-Door signs. Super helpful! She posts a sign on her door that says if tuition is due that day.

My older children attend elementary school and this year the teachers have been so much better than previous teachers with communication. 1 teacher sends a weekly paper home advising whether any assignments were missed that week, which I have to sign and return. The other sends an email any day that an assignment was not turned in. Both work great for us.

The thing I LOVED about my children's daycare provider was that they had pre-formed note for each day with a section to fill out that included child's mood, amount & time of nap, how much & when they ate, and other notes like "she took a few steps across the room today" or "he was making the babies giggle and he really enjoyed doing it!" or "she was cranky and had a runny nose - teething?"

when we drop our children off in the morning we feel like we're missing such a big part of their life that getting those short updates made my day. My kids are 13 & 1 and I still have many of them in their pre-school memories storage bin in the basement.

The daycare gave us a sheet daily on DD's infant/toddler behaviors - diapers, food, naps, etc. There were flyers/newsletters for each month.

The preschool gives us notes in DD's bin and puts out a newsletter. They also post the newsletter and forms on the board for you to grab a copy of. Major events (like no school) are posted on the door as well so you see it coming and going. They may also email us if necessary (they sent out an email before school started).

I find this to be acceptable level of communication, and I can always email or call if I need to. The teachers are also there at the start/end of the day for quick chats or questions.

I keep a big wall/desk calendar on the bar where we mark all activity--meals (what he eats and when), milk consumption, poops, time off, medicine.... If she leaves before I get home, I ask that she call me to touch base, but I don't require it. I write notes and send texts.

At drop off and at pick up I just made sure I had time to chat.

Part employee, part family member, your nanny is a hybrid in your world. And she’s oh so important to your kids. This is one of the relationships that you really want to do right. What can you do to ensure that your relationship with your nanny is on solid footing?

Communication is Key. From the moment that you have first contact with her, usually in setting up an interview, make sure to communicate clearly your expectations of her and of the relationship. Oral and written communications should consistently be clear. There should be opportunity for dialogue, as she may have questions or feedback that you need to hear and respond to. As her employment begins, train her thoroughly on what you expect. As her employment proceeds, provide her clear, specific feedback on what she’s doing well and what she’s doing that needs to be altered to conform to expectations. Provide consequences as appropriate (pay raises when she’s doing well, and progressive discipline when she is not).
Trust. Your nanny will act on your behalf a great number of times during her employment. Don’t micromanage her. Once you have set expectations and have seen that she complies, then trust her judgment . . . and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Do fact finding before being critical. Did she let Janie wear a seasonally inappropriate dress to her classmate’s birthday party? Was there a reason? (For example, maybe Janie insisted on wearing that dress, and your nanny thought Janie might best absorb the lesson at hand by experiencing a chill and learning the importance of dressing for the season. Meanwhile, make sure that your nanny had Janie’s coat nearby just in case . . . )
Prioritize. Your nanny’s central role is attending to your kids. If you occasionally ask her to perform additional tasks (i.e., running an errand for you that is not related to your kids), recognize that as a favor rather than as a job requirement. If that task is ultimately not done because she was too busy with your kids, then that’s ok. She was doing what was important.
Establish healthy boundaries. You may feel like she is a family member, but you must know that, legally and professionally, she is an employee. Therefore, while it is important to communicate how much she means to you and your family, it is important to communicate your affection without creating challenges in the employment context.
Empathize. What does it feel like to be in her shoes? Do you pay her well? Does she feel valued in your home? Is she free to make her own decisions (within reason) when attending to your kids? Your nanny is probably far from her own family, so have you provided her opportunities to have periodic visits back to her home town?
Be understanding and accommodating (within reason). Does she need to make an emergency trip back to her home town because her sister is critically ill? What will happen with your kids while your nanny is away? Is there a way to creatively solve this challenge such that your kids can be attended to while the nanny makes a quick trip home for her sister?
By following these seven steps, you will foster a happy, healthy relationship with your nanny. And when mama and nanny are happy, then everybody’s happy!

Our daycare has a daily schedule posted on the door to each classroom. Every day is the same, i.e. lunch, then nap, then exercise, then art, then outdoor time. What they have for lunch, what they do for exercise, art and outdoor time changes daily, but we parents aren't aprised of just what is done daily.

They do themed weeks, i.e. where they look, cut, taste, cook, draw apples, leaves etc. We are alerted to what they will be doing with a newsletter.

They've got a pre-populated checklist which they send home which reads- your child's stay with us would be better if you furnished- more diapers, wipes, training pants, underpants, etc.

They will call if anything is out of sorts.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

I use a a parent/teacher journal that i send home weekly for each child that talks about their week, what we are working on, any concerns I have and questions for parents...My parents seem to enjoy this communication since we don't always have time to chat and and I am not there when they pick up