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| Adult relationships in the early childhood program are extremely important. Children learn ways of interacting, showing feelings, and resolving conflicts through watching adults. Adults model mature relationships and problem solving for children. Adults approach problem solving in many ways. When adults work on accepting each other's differences they also model a respect for diversity. Finally, adults who act naturally and behave in a genuine way model authenticity. Adults in a working relationship with other adults must learn to distinguish between arguing and dialoguing in a conflict. The point of an argument is to win; the point of a dialogue is to gain information and understand the other's point of view. Dialogues are more likely to lead to satisfactory conflict management or resolution than arguments. When adults teach children dialoguing and demonstrate it in their own relationships, the lesson is twice as strong. Early childhood educators create relationships with each other and also with the families in the program. It's important for early childhood educators to see the family as the client and to include them in the program. To create relationships with families, it's important to recognize the ways in which the provider and the parent roles differ. Occasionally conflicts arise between parents and caregivers, and it's important for the early childhood educator to recognize that many conflicts are due to emotional, cultural, and language differences. A process for resolving conflicts is called RERUN, which stands for reflect, explain, reason, understand, and negotiate. Conflicts addressed by the RERUN process can result in four possible outcomes: (1) resolution through parent education, (2) resolution through provider education, (3) resolution through mutual education, and (4) no resolution. It's the early childhood educators' job to support families by (1) respecting differences, (2) creating and maintaining a relationship, (3) showing concern for the parents' welfare, (4) helping parents further appreciate and enjoy their children, and (5) creating parent support groups. |