Code of Ethical Conduct: A Responsibility to Families

I found the assignment to read and reflect on the codes of conduct from the NAEYC and the DEC very enlightening and compelling for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I appreciated the opportunity to be reminded of ideals and practices that I, in theory, work and live by every day, but in practice, maybe could do much better at realizing.  And second, I found that in looking through the ideals specifically for ideals that were meaningful to me, the ideals that I picked out as meaningful are the ones that I live the most day to day.  Perhaps a better reflection for my personal adherence to these ideals would be to look at some of the ideals that seem personally irrelevant or distant from my interactions with the early childhood field.  It is probably these ideals that were more foreign to me that highlight where I need the most improvement.

For the sake of the assignment, however, I will highlight here on the blog the ideals that resounded most with me personally.  I found as I highlighted the ideals that stood out the most to me, I highlighted almost the entire section from the NAEYC on our ethical responsibilities to families.  Of these ideals, here are my three choices:

• "I-2.2—To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve" (NAEYC, 2005, p.3).  I chose this ideal because I believe that in a child care setting, having a trusting partnership with families is of the utmost importance.  For a parent to leave their child in our care for some 40+ hours a week takes a tremendous amount of trust, and I hold myself personally accountable that these parents can do their jobs without worrying how their babies are faring in our care.  I truly appreciate the relationships where parents are confident in our care and trust us fully with their children and the attitude of cooperation between teacher and parent that this enables us to model.
• "I-2.8—To help family members enhance their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents" (NAEYC, 2005, p.4).  One of the most personally significant lessons I have learned from working in the child care center where I am now is that parents don't always have the perfect handbook for how to raise their children.  We have so many first time parents who are uncertain of their role, their responsibilities, and how rapidly their child is growing.  My mentors at our center are the teachers who take it upon themselves to help coach first time parents through the transitions and who are really willing to partner with parents as they figure out their role.  Personally, I am scared silly of becoming a first time mom.  I know that I will be incredibly thankful for the teachers in my child's center who are willing to help me work through the stages and the changes.
• "I-2.9—To participate in building support networks for families by providing them with opportunities to interact with program staff, other families, community resources, and professional services" (NAEYC, 2005, p.4).  Like I mentioned before, I know that many of our parents at my center are flying blind into the parenthood role.  As teachers of early childhood well connected with the field, what a beautiful position for us to be able to connect parents with friends or mentors who can help them become the best possible parent.  In my current role at a child care center, I see this played out as we connect families through potlucks and other events, and as we advise parents about resources like community swim lessons on campus or preschool summer camps nearby.  I see this ideal becoming even more important to me, however, when I hopefully move back into a role in children's ministry.  Parents are, whether they are willing to admit it or not, hungry for ideas, resources, and rest, and who better to provide those than the church that they trust.  I look forward to equipping parents with the tools they need as I learn more myself about what exactly those tools are.

Reference
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf