To build positive relationships with parents, caregivers need to gain a better understanding of the needs, concerns, and feelings of employed parents. Understanding Parents E mployed parents have different needs than parents who are not working. The parents may feel they are competing with the caregiver for the child's affection, since both parent and caregiver have formed protective attachments to the child. In reality, the child was just showing frustration at being separated from dad all day. Situations like these can strain the relationships between parents and child care workers.
Guilt is another feeling that employed parents experience.
They may feel that they are abandoning their children by leaving them while they work. Children often contribute to their parents' guilty feelings by expressing their dislike of the parents' leaving. Children sometimes show anger by crying and yelling at their parents when it is time to separate. It is often hard for parents to explain to their preschool children why they are working and why they must leave them. On the other hand, parents sometimes feel even more guilty when their children do not protest.