Contents and Context of Parent-Caregiver Communication at Transition Points in Child Care

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide further descriptive information about the content and context of parent-caregiver communication at the transition points in child care. Observational data of interactions for 28 caregivers with parents were collected at drop-off and pick-up times in four licensed child care facilities. Conversations were coded as child/family focused or adult/routine focused. The results of this study showed that communications takes place between parents and caregivers at transition points. This current study did not find that the attitudes or ratings of parent communication of the caregiver differed for child/family focused or adult/routine focused conversations. It was found that conversations that were child/family focused lasted longer than adult/routine focused. It was found that the mean length of child/family focus conversations was 132.45 seconds long as compared to adult/routine focus which lasted for 75 seconds long.