As a parent, it is natural to be protective of your little darling and only want the best for him/her. This would include wanting all your child’s experiences outside the safety of the home environment to be enjoyable and filled with happy memories. The area that will probably impact your child the most would be his/her educational phase in life, and it is very important to arm yourself with knowledge and communication basics, between you and potential teaching staff, to ensure this phase is smooth sailing for you and your child. Learning how to communicate appropriately is vital in the relationship between parents and teachers, as the general outcome of this communication style will usually have some bearing on your child’s schooling experience. The following are some tips on how you can make parent-teacher communication as cordial, simple and pleasant as possible:

• Perhaps the first and most important element to establish is a friendly tone, even if you don’t feel particularly pleased about the reason for the communication as establishing this, will help to create a non-threatening initial contact.
• Keeping the communication short and to the point is also important. You need to understand that your child is not the only focal point for the teacher, and time is precious, as the teacher probably has to deal with many other aspect of the job, besides addressing parental issues and queries.
• Being as detailed as possible will help the teacher understand and focus on the problem or communication. This will save the teacher unnecessary reference time and will certainly create a faster response.
• Making an appointment is another courtesy you should consider extending to the teacher. No one really enjoys drop in “guest” and this is especially so, when the teacher is busy or distracted with other issues.

• Being patient yet persistent is a good game plan. Without causing too many waves, you should ensure the teacher is aware that you intend to get your questions answered.
• Your mindset and attitude will play a huge part in the success of the communication; therefore, it would be wise to remember to be rational at all times. Control your emotions and be professional. Listening intently while the teacher explains things is very important as unnecessary interruptions will not only create confusion but will also be annoying.
• Doing some research before hand is also encouraged. Starting the communication without actually being armed with all the facts will definitely not be beneficial to you or your child. Make sure your facts are correct and reliable.
• Taking the time to build a relationship with the teacher that is based on a lot of positive elements is something most parents fail to establish. You don’t want to be the parent that only sees the teacher when there is an unpleasant situation to address. Teachers are also human and receiving compliments or pleasant encounters will make their day too.

As every parent only wants the very best for their children, it would be beneficial to ensure the parent-teacher relationship is also the best that it can be. You will be the one to set the tone for this.

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