From Heat To Heart: Strategies for Responding to Angry Caregivers
From Park People · 19:11
Show by PRB+ Magazine
Today, we talk with Chris Rehs-Dupin, Camp Leader, Speaker, Author & Consultant about how to deal with angry caregivers. Parents and caregivers love their kids fiercely, which sometimes means camp directors and staff receive that love in the form of anger, urgency, or blame. How we respond in those moments shapes trust, safety, and long-term partnership with families.This session equips youth leaders with practical, camp-tested tools for de-escalating parent communications and responding with clarity, empathy, and confidence. Drawing from TQAMP’s trauma-informed De-Escalation framework (pause, restabilize, enlist support, work to resolution), participants will learn how to:De-escalate tense calls and emails without fueling the fire.Balance empathy with boundaries, so families feel heard while staff feel supported.Shift from reactive fixes to proactive trust-building, reducing repeated caregiver conflicts.Apply tools that work under pressure—because camp leaders don’t have time for theory when the phone is ringing.By the end of this session, directors will walk away with a ready-to-use toolkit: techniques to calm themselves and the person on the other end of the line, strategies to turn tense moments into opportunities for partnership, and language for confidently—and safely—closing conversations when they’re no longer productive.You can watch the podcast here. You can register for the session here.
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