BackEve Leefe-Griffiths
July 14, 2025
Krupa Givane, Curam Care Professional
For families with a child with additional needs, there may come a time when they need the help of a Care Professional to look after the child. This is both to ensure the child is fully supported and to provide respite for regular carers in the family.
However, bringing someone new into the family home can be a huge adjustment for both the child and parents alike. All of a sudden another person is caring for your child and taking on jobs that you have potentially spent years doing and it can take time to find the right rhythm.
To help navigate this and overcome potential hurdles, Krupa Givane, a Curam Care Professional with over five years of experience working with families, offers her top tips to parents on how to best integrate a Care Professional into their child’s and their own lives.
Be patient and allow mistakes
“Patience is key when you first start working with a Care Professional, as it can take time to understand a child, their needs and family life. Even for Care Professionals who have extensive experience caring for children, every child is unique and therefore the Care Professional will require an adjustment period as they learn about behaviour patterns or nuanced communication. In the early days, it is also likely that mistakes will happen as they look to find their feet. When this does happen, parents should look to support and guide the Care Professional, so that mistakes can be learnt from.”
Don’t rush it
“A gradual building of responsibilities can also be highly valuable to both the child and Care Professional to help their relationship develop naturally. For example, the first days may purely revolve around getting to know the child by observing them, talking to them or playing with them. This gives Care Professionals space to learn without being overwhelmed by tasks that involve more responsibility.
“Once there is a solid foundation in place and the Care Professional understands the child and their behaviour, more responsibility, such as feeding, suction and coping with seizures, can be incorporated. This slower learning process makes sure that the Care Professional, child and parents are all absolutely confident in the care being provided.”
Build a parent-Care Professional relationship
“While a Care Professional is working directly with the child, there needs to be trust, understanding and open communication with the parents and other people within the household. It’s important that, in time, parents feel like they can pass over the care of their child to the Care Professional so that they can get the respite they need.
“Taking the time to help the Care Professional understand the family is an important aspect of establishing this relationship. Making sure the needs, culture and boundaries of the family are clear will make the working relationship more comfortable for the family and the Care Professional. For example, if parents don’t want shoes to be worn in the house or for their child to eat certain foods, they should feel empowered to communicate that.”
Take your time in finding the right fit
“Parents must remember that the Care Professional they employ for their child will be spending a lot of time around them, and therefore having someone that they like makes all the difference. Skills are of course important, but they can be built, whereas someone being a cultural fit and having an affinity with child and family can often not.
“Families should take the time to explore their options, and online care platforms are helping to make this approach more accessible than traditional care agencies. If parents find someone who seems like the right fit, they can use video calling to have initial conversations and then ask them to come and meet the child for a few hours in the first instance to see how they work.
“It is crucial that parents are honest with themselves and the Care Professional about whether they think they are the best person for their child. Ultimately, a parent needs to protect and improve their child’s quality of life, and Care Professionals will understand this. If communication is clear and mindful, there should be no hurt feelings if parents don’t wish to progress with employment at any stage.”
If you'd like to learn more about organising a Curam Care Professional for your child you can find more information here.
