Helping Busy Parents Keep Their Kiddos’ Therapy Appointments

Getting kiddos from daycares and private preschools into your practice can be challenging. Public preschools are required to have therapy teams in their schools. But it may not be a large enough team to provide an adequate level of service for a child’s needs.

In my practice, what I always focused on was kiddos in private preschools and daycare. Their parents are working—probably both parents are working—or the child wouldn’t be at daycare. So, you have to help the parent solve the problem of getting the child to therapy. 

There are a couple of ways to solve it. One is that a parent can “flex” their work hours. They can go in late one day, work a little bit longer on another day. Or they can leave early one day, and then come in extra early on another day. 

Talk to the parents about how they can handle their bosses so they can bring their child to therapy. Since COVID, bosses in this world are a lot more flexible than they were before. Let’s use that to our advantage. We have to be super-flexible and family-friendly as employers, therefore, we would expect that other people also have that type of flexibility in their jobs. You’re not going to get this flexibility in a hundred percent of your parents and that’s okay. We’re working with the ones that we can work with so they can get that flexibility and bring their child to therapy. 

What to Do if a Parent Has No Flexibility in Their Job

If it’s an absolute no-go for one parent to change their work schedule, perhaps the other parent can get flexibility in theirs. To me, that’s always my first choice, because as a parent, I want to bring my child to therapy. 

However, if neither parent is available, then you start to look at other family members. Are there grandparents, or aunts and uncles in this child’s life who might have some flexibility? Maybe the parent could pay them if they can work out their schedule to get that child to therapy.

When the parent isn’t bringing the child to therapy, there has to be a way for them to stay informed about the child’s treatment. Maybe the parent comes once a month or once every other month to keep up with the child’s progress. Or you can make an agreement that you’ll call the parent once a month. You don’t need to call them every single visit. Be careful with your promises, but look at what you’re willing to do. You can send the parent a report on the child’s treatment if someone else is bringing the child to therapy. Do whatever might make sense for you and that parent to keep good communication going with the parent.

Students Could Help Parents Get Kiddos to Therapy

With a little creative thought, you might be able to come up with more solutions. There could be a college student that the parent trusts. They’re not going to put their kiddo in an Uber—some people might, but we’re going to assume that we’re talking about logical parents. Most people aren’t just going to put their three-year-old in an Uber, nor is it probably legal. 

But there might be someone else they trust. A college student or maybe even a high school senior. There are high schools now that release students early. They’re literally getting out of school by noon or whatever. It might be that a high school kiddo has the ability to transport this child and isn’t having to take off from school to do it. 

Realistically, most parents would be more likely to trust a college student. So, family members first, then college students, then potentially a senior in high school or an early release student.

 You Must Solve Scheduling for Daycare Kids

What you’re doing is taking a look at how you can solve this problem for the parent. The parent might be resistant and say, “I’m not sure I can make it there but I want my child to make progress. If I can’t always make it to my child’s therapy, I want to at least know that my child got to their appointments. Then I can come once a month or every other week and stay informed about their progress.”

Think with that. If you’re working on how to start offering care to kiddos in daycares, you have to solve the problem of how the kiddo is even going to get to your facility.

How to Learn from 25 Years of Private Practice Experience

In 25 years, I’ve probably faced every possible problem or crisis in my pediatric practice. That’s why I’ve created nearly one hundred practice management videos which are available in our Lemonade Library. I want you to be able to find solutions to problems that come up. When you find good advice and solutions, life gets less stressful. Get registered and look for Lemonades that help you manage attendance with ease. 

About Diane Crecelius

Diane Crecelius is a physical therapist and founder of a multi-million-dollar, multi-location practice with well over 3,000 visits per week and 200 staff! In the past several years, Diane has worked tirelessly to support Peds-A-Palooza® Community & Conferences and the success of Private Practice Owners. Diane has presented at nearly every Peds-A-Palooza live and virtual conference since the first sold-out conference in 2018. Her extensive knowledge derives from her decades in practice and from being trained and consulted by Survival Strategies, Inc. She uses this training to help Private Practice Owners learn how to thrive and expand while keeping their stress low.