Undoubtedly teaching can be a stressful job and difficult parents can add to the stress more. As a teacher, there will numerous great things about your job. However, dealing with difficult parents is not included in those things. There would be parents from whom you would receive thank you cards and gifts. But there would be some difficult parents to deal with just because their kids failed an exam or you told them about their kid’s misbehaviour and disabilities. Irrespective of the situation, we know you do not want to deal with such parents. However, you cannot stop this from happening. It can be a nerve-racking experience. So, as a teacher what are you going to do to withstand such conditions? One thing you need to remember is to never lose your calm when something like this happens.
Given below are some suggestions made by the experts of allassignmenthelp.co.uk for students who need to handle difficult parents or their angry emails and letters.
Don’t Keep Secrets
One of the most important things in the teaching profession is to have a weekly or monthly meeting with parents so that you can discuss kid’s good and bad. Noticing things and waiting up for the year-end is no good option. It can come to you as stress in the end. Therefore, it is wise to keep parents posted about their kid’s good and bad with time. But if parents still behave like you are at fault and did not let them know anything then keep records of phone calls, emails, and other conversations. According to the experts, this is one of the best ways to stay stress-free as a teacher.
Sleep On It
There is nothing new in receiving after work mails. This can happen to teachers as well. Parents might send you aggressive letters after school hours and expect you to respond. However, it is okay to wait until the next working day. If you are still concerned that it might add up to parent’s anger or they can think of you as not reachable then set an automatic reply which would alert them about your working hours. Sleep on it and reply later with a calm and clear mind. You can try this technique to prevent unwanted stress and arguments.
Show Manners, Don’t Blast Back on The Parents
Teachers are regarded as decent professionals. You are also regarded as the guardian of the students because you not only teach the students their academic subjects but also teach them the various values of life. So, blasting back on the parents for their ill-mannered email or letter could mar your image.
The calm and sensitive approach is the ideal one to deal with the parents in such a situation. You should write a respectful reply to the parents and should have a detailed talk with them.
Before Hitting Send to Parents, Call Your Friend
You too are human and can write aggressively in response to parents which is not acceptable. It is better to call your friend, a trusted teacher, principal, or any institutional coach to discuss if you are doing right. Sometimes, we can ruin things with our preoccupied emotions. Having a neutral party in such time would be a great saviour. They can help you with risk management.
Take Responsibility
It doesn’t matter if you are responsible for your parent’s anger or not. You have to anyway take responsibility. Doing this would help you diffuse their anger as fast as possible. Once you have taken responsibility, apologize. Often, this is what parents want teachers to do. After all this, it is time to fix things by saying you are going to take care of them. Try to fix the issue as early as you could.
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Face to Face Meetings With Parents
As discussed earlier, it is better to meet parents in person rather than replying to them over calls and emails. In meetings, you can show parents the academic records of their kids. Similarly, if you cannot meet them in person due to some reasons, it is better to pick up the phone. Empathy and clarification can be shared better when both the party hears each other’s voice. Try to establish a common goal rather than arguing to prove yourself right. If you see a ripple effect in the communication try empathy and vulnerability. This is one good way of targeting and positioning the right conversation and coming to a common point.
Know How to Wrap Up The Conversation With Angry Parents
Some parents are difficult to deal with and you can move on to a similar solution once they are done expressing their unhappiness in you. But what if parents get abusive? It is okay for parents to be angry but the moment they turn abusive you need to stop them right away. It is the time when you need to wrap up the conversation. If they are taking the case to the principal, let them. As a teacher, you would get to meet various parents whilst some of them would be tough to handle. Every teacher needs to know how to handle such parents. It should be a part of your skillset if you are a teacher. Coming to a decision that is for student’s good despite all unfortunate arguments is a symbol of your great leadership as a teacher.
Conclusion
Once you use these strategies and make yourself able to handle tough situation with parents, you can easily shed off stress from the day and keep yourself free and calm. This is also going to help you engage yourself more in teaching and help students better. Irrespective of your field of work, it is always wise to keep stress at bay. Doing this keep space in our mind and help us healthily deal with things. Even if we are stuck with tough situations, we should always look for tricks that can help us come out of the mess.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Q. How does an angry parent affect a child? A. The effects can be long-term such as poor self-esteem, anxiety, and excessive aggression. |
| Q. What is the most psychologically damaging thing you can say to a child? A. “You were a mistake, I don’t love you, You are good for nothing” are few sentences that can cause huge psychological damage to kids. |