Abstract The transition from family to early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a critical phase for families. This mixed methods exploratory study investigates how communication between parents and ECEC professionals is related to parental satisfaction during the familiarisation process. In the first qualitative phase, 13 semi-structured interviews were analysed using content analysis. Communication emerged as a central theme that influenced how parents experienced transitions. The findings were incorporated into a standardised questionnaire completed by 276 parents in Austria and Germany. The results show that parents who experienced regular, trusting and transparent communication through planned or informal interactions reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction. By contrast, digital formats, such as messenger groups or apps, had little impact. The study highlights the importance of communicating with parents to foster orientation, trust and emotional security, especially during the transition period.
Eva Pölzl‐Stefanec (Tue,) studied this question.