Tips for Successful Parent Conferences

Written by Joy P. Dodge

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One of the greatest challenges facing church leaders today is building a team that helps children become high achievers, whether in school or in Sunday School. Parents, children, teachers, and other church leaders must work together to bring spiritual growth and lay foundations that lead to professions of faith as well as spiritual maturity.

Connecting with parents about their children can be a real challenge for even the most seasoned children's leader. Sometimes we have to look for special ways to communicate with parents about their children.

Here are ways to help leaders improve their ability to connect and communicate with parents and others who lay spiritual foundations for children.

1. Relate to parents, affirming that they are the most important people in their child's life.
2. Meet with parents periodically to discuss how their children are doing in Bible study experiences.
3. Allow parents to begin the conference with comments about their children. Encourage parents to comment on likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, experiences, and so forth. This provides parents an opportunity to present a positive image of their children while leaders learn new information about their learners.
4. Develop schedules for workers to meet with parents. When you've made your schedule, send a reminder to parents about the conference date, time, and location.
5. Parents like to see some of their children's work. Rather than give parents everything the children do every week, hold onto some papers and other items that you can share with parents in personal conferences.
6. Limit distractions. Children may want to be involved in these meetings. Certainly spend some time with the children with their parents present so parents can watch you interact with their children. But ask for time without children present so you can talk freely with parents, especially if you need to discuss behavior matters.
7. Always say something positive about each student at the beginning of the conference...even if you have to look hard to find something positive to say.
8. Take notes each week. You are likely to forget ideas and concerns from one week to another. Develop a personal journal in which you write experiences with the children as well as observations about them. Note in particular ways you think parents can help their children grow spiritually.
9. Follow through on any strategies developed or commitments made during the conference.
10. Be prepared to lead children and parents alike to Christ when you make visits in homes. Some children whose parents are not Christian are likely to attend. In other cases, children from broken homes may have parents or stepparents who need Christ. The children themselves may be ready to make professions of faith and a home visit can be a great opportunity to lead them to Christ.

Remember that conferences with parents are intended to develop lines of communication that will improve your work and help children grow to become the Christians Christ would have them to become.

Joy P. Dodge teaches firth and sixth grade girls in Sunday School at Una Baptist Church, and is a public school teacher in Hermitage, Tennessee.

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