Despite all the benefits a daycare report has , staying on top of it is extremely difficult as it seems. Even if a school has a fixed template it becomes difficult for the teachers to update each child’s nap, potty, activity details. This is due to the fact that many daycare centres still use paper forms and the manual processing of these forms is time-consuming and error-prone. On top of that at times there are updates which are not part of the fixed paper template like an incident report or a medical update. A daily reporting childcare software can help improve communication between parents and teachers, reduce your administrative overhead costs, save time of your staff and foster healthy parent teacher relations.This post captures 15 tips and advantages for writing effective digital daily reports to keep parents happy and stress-free.

1. Write in first-person

When instructors speak and write in the first person, they give the storyteller or narrator within a voice. Teachers provide a personal viewpoint to the tale through their varied roles as observers, documenters, and writers. Describe the situation in detail and recount what you saw, heard, or noted, just like you would write your daily journal.

2. Use active voice

Limit the use of passive voice. You must write a description of the student in an active voice. When writing, passive voice is used to highlight the object of a statement, whereas active voice is used to emphasize the subject of a sentence. Understanding the differences between these two voices is critical for students and teachers.

3. Don’t skip the identifying information

Include slots for the child’s name, the date, and your own name – you don’t want to provide the wrong report to the parents, and they should know who to contact if they have problems.

4. Digitise Your Daily Report Sheets

Digital records free up time and space by letting you add to daily reports right from your mobile devices. You can save upto 500 dollars per month by digitising your daycare reporting process and save money on resources and stationeries. You can reduce the risk of human mistakes and save time as well. With an daycare reporting software, you’ll only have to record everything once and share the common updates . Plus, they’re more flexible, so you can customise reports to each child’s needs. You can keep parents up-to-date with everything happening at a school with just a few clicks.

5. Give notes to parents

A basic description of the child’s day — his mood, energy, and conduct over time — should be included in the daily daycare report. It’s also a wonderful place to jot down anything that didn’t fit anywhere else.

6. Don’t forget to comment on the child’s eating pattern

Inform parents on what their children ate at each meal and how much of it they consumed in the daily report. They’ll want to know whether their child is eating a balanced diet, if they have any food allergies, and if they’ll be hungry when they return home.

Parents may gain insight into their baby’s health, habits, and requirements by tracking their infant’s bottle intake daily. Include places for the date and quantity of the bottle that was presented. Write down the time of each intake and how much was consumed.

7. Report on activities

Daily reporting on children’s daily activities and learning is a fantastic way to keep parents informed about what your center has to offer, as well as their child’s likes and dislikes and academic development. Because activities will vary from day to day, it’s advisable to strive for accuracy. Letting parents know about your center’s activities, such as field trips and special events, will help keep them informed about what your center offers their kids and their child’s likes and dislikes. Leave a few lines of space here so you can update this section frequently.

Keep your daily report sheets available throughout the day so you can update them in real time – information like sleep times and food portions might fade from your mind as the day progresses, so write them while they’re still fresh. It’s very vital to keep track of all incidents daily so that parents are aware of what transpired.

8. Add photos and videos to engage parents

A childcare app makes it simple to integrate these personal touches, allowing parents to share their children’s positive childcare memories daily. A written record is useful, but seeing and hearing their children is far more encouraging.

9. Observe mood changes

Because parents can’t ask their children if they had a nice day at child care, it’s up to you to inform them regularly. You may fill in the blanks with your own words to describe the child’s mood, but consider using smiling faces or pre-set categories in the app, like happy or sleepy.

10. Report incidents

Parents must be informed if something odd occurs in child care. Use this section of the report to keep track of any mishaps, behavioral concerns, or other unexpected events involving their child.

11. Avoid springing up a surprise

Prior to preparing the day journal of a kid, make sure you have a telephonic conversation to discuss any pressing matters or incidents that may have surfaced during the day. Be as comforting as possible with your body language and tone of speech. You can mention the discussion and the tactics discussed in your report.

12. Mention frequency of feeding on bottle and snacks

Parents can gain insight into their baby’s health, habits, and needs by tracking their infant’s daily bottle intake. Include places for the date and amount of the bottle that was given. Keep regular track of when each snack was served and what was served.

13. Include nap time

Include as many spaces as a child regularly has naps per day, and keep track of when each nap begins and ends. A tough nap-time at daycare, for instance, might lead to a grumpy toddler in the evening, and may even indicate emotional concerns.

14. Record potty and diaper change times

For each child’s potty times, a single-line record should suffice. Keep track of each wet diaper for newborns, as well as the time it was changed on a regular basis.

15. Fill them in on supply (or lack of)

Notify parents if their child is low on any items that should be sent with them the next day, such as diapers, wipes, cream, a change of clothes, or anything else.

Wrap up

Daily daycare reports are an important tool for monitoring milestones, communicating with parents, and enhancing staff collaboration. Digitizing your childcare daily report forms delivers even more benefits to both parents and staff, allowing your employees to work more efficiently while also giving parents more personalized information on their kid’s care.

Illumine can help you form a solid working relationship with parents by enabling you to create and share accurate daycare reports with them, saving you a lot of time. Get an 11-day trial of our app that includes all features or book a free demo with us to explore the option of going paperless at your daycare.

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