This is part 3 of 10 from our series.
This time around we are talking about getting parents on your side and helping you out from the beginning. I put this number three because I truly think that after the initial connection with the youth, the parents comes next. Not necessarily getting the parents involved, but developing program around the care and concern of the parents. If you have the parents on your side from the beginning, it will make life much easier for you down the road.
Be Careful What You Do With The Youth
Now that you are working on the core group of students and you are spending a lot of time with them. Be very careful with it. You are still new to the parents and they may not completely trust you yet. Do not stay up too late with the kids, work to never be alone with them for long periods of time. Also, be cautious of what you are inviting them to do. Will other people be around? Are you inviting others? These are questions the parents will ask. Lastly, be cautious of how much time they spend away from home. Parents should be the primary teachers to their children. Help the youth to make efforts to be home with their families. Purposely tell the youth that our event tonight is to spend it at home with our parents or siblings.
Do not do anything that, if a parent found out, they would be disappointed in you. If you do once, they will assume you are not mature enough yet.
Slowly Get Parents Involved
A great way to let parents know that you are comfortable with them knowing what you are doing with their children is to invite them. Ask a parent to provide a snack each week (ask the parent, not the student). Have a late night event or an out of town event and ask a parent to drive or chaperone. Your involvement with parents must be intentional. Most want to help, but not be committed. There are not many parents who say no when you call and ask them to do a one time thing. Through this time, parents and volunteers that want to be more involved will sprout out and you will soon find your weekly committed leaders.
You Will Disappoint
Since what you are doing is new, there will be parents who are not happy with it. Whether you are adding to the kids busy schedule, taking the place of the parent, or do simply do something you shouldn’t have, parents will let you know about it. Take them seriously, apologize, and discern what they have said. The majority of things a parent says will not change anything you do, but that’s ok. If you are unsure, talk to your pastor. If you have his backing, the parents will likely be ok also.
Communication
Be sure to advertise consistently. Collect parent emails and include them in your weekly email to the youth. Be sure to have an end time for events posted so parents know. If it goes longer than expected, make an announcement for the youth to call home and ask to stay longer. I will be doing a whole post on Networking and Communication, so I will leave it at that.
If parents know what you are doing, how long it will take, they will be much more comfortable with it. DO NOT expect the youth to communicate this to parents. You are kidding yourself if you think you can tell a parent “I told your son to tell you” or “I sent a note home” so you should have known. They will laugh in your face.
Networking and communication is huge. Check out our next post to learn how!
