Quit Tattling on Children

06/03/2022

Provide children with time, space, and safety to discover the world. Provide teachers with time, space, and safety to discover children discovering the world.
Anji Play

"Sharing information about a child's day is crucial for relationship building with families, and for helping children transition between home and their early care and education setting…Too often this information exchange is treated as an occasion for teachers to vent, to shift responsibility for addressing issues, or simply to recite from a long-unexamined teacher script," says Heather Bernt-Santy in an article that shapes the newest Exchange Reflections, "Quit Tattling on Children."

Bernt-Santy offers several considerations to guide how and what we share with families. For example, she asks, "What is our own view of behavior and children? If we see developmentally typical behaviors such as hitting, not sharing, not napping, or leaving circle time as morally right or wrong, we will make poor choices about sharing with families. If we understand that behavior is about development, we are more likely to share appropriately and effectively with families."

This Exchange Reflections invites teams to consider Bernt-Santy’s ideas, with questions such as, "When a parent asks, 'Was my child good today,' what are some positive ways early educators could reframe that question?" Also included are suggested commitments to help participants follow up with practical actions that make a difference.

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