Trouble shared is trouble halved.
– Dorothy L. Sayers

“There are very few things that are more nerve-racking to the administrator of a child care center than an encounter with an angry parent,” write William Mosier and Ross Glen Chandler, in their article, “Handling Difficult Moments with Demanding Families.”

“There is no question about it, dealing with a disgruntled family member can be frustrating. You have many meetings with parents. Most of them are pleasant. However, a handful are not. Aggressive parents can be irritating. In fact, research suggests that administrators find dealing with an angry and demanding parent as challenging as dealing with a disruptive child…

“Sadly, some parents wait until a problem occurs before they get involved in what is happening at the child care center. The aggression that you might be observing is not about you, as a person. Parents just get caught-up in the stress of a situation they are not sure how to resolve. So, do not take it personally! It is not about you. It is about the parent feeling helpless (Harman et al., 2016).” Mosier and Chandler provide multiple tools for creating mutually supportive relationships with even the most demanding families.