Think I am about to "fire" my first family....SCARED!

[Judy Trickett]

What I like to do is type up a termination letter and put it in a sealed envelope. At home time right before they walk out the door hand them the envelope and say, "Please take a moment to read this when you get home and call me with any questions".

Now, I am not one who is afraid of confrontation. But, that said, I also run a business here and I don't want some irate parent freaking out at my doorstep while other kids are in care.

I find the written letter gives them a bit of time to compose themselves and check their emotions before they have the chance to speak with you face to face about it. I find this method works well because you rarely have that initial emotional charge to deal with because the parent isn't standing at your door blind-sided.

AND, the other awesome thing about the letter is that in a lot of cases once it is clear to them you have terminated they often don't come back at all. And if they don't return then you don't have to have any face time with them at all over the issue.

Trust me, I have done lots of terminations in my time and you can never really predict which parents are gonna go off the deep end. It's always a crap shoot. You think you know how they react but the ones who seem the scariest often don't give you any problems at all.

Good luck....it's always easier once you hand over that letter!