Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/dialog-to-understanding-across-cultures/5012806/
Some child care directors and staff are experts at handling two children squabbling; but when tensions arise between themselves and parents, it can be a different story. Conflicts may come up around program policies or maybe it's just a small practical matter like bibs on toddlers. Behind the conflict may be differing notions of what's best for children, or for a particular child. When professionals find themselves in such a conflict with a parent, it's a good idea to ask if this is a cultural conflict.Sometimes what a parent wants doesn't make any sense to the professional. In that case, professionals have to listen, really listen, to parents. To do that listening, they have to step down from their place of power and put themselves in the role of learner. It's not easy for most professionals to accept that their knowledge has limitations, especially when what the parent is telling them doesn't sound reasonable.
Let's play that out. A parent comes with what seems a small complaint. Her toddler gets food on his clothes. Her solution: spoon feed him. The director has a different solution: a bib. Spoon feeding doesn't make any sense to the director. She talks about the importance of ...