Building Rapport
Allowing time and establishing a routine for communication for guardian’s and Bigs is a key aspect for successful friendships. To help build comfort around reaching out, we recommend:
Utilizing pick up and drop off for Bigs and guardians to check in
Follow up phone call and/or texts after an outing is a good alternative
Bigs can consider sending text updates during outings or sharing an outing picture with their Little’s guardian.
Creating a group text thread between Guardian, Big, and Little is also helpful for ensuring Guardians are kept in the loop.
For site-based matches, connecting with teachers/school-site contacts helps to ensure clear and open communication.
Guardians reaching out between outings with quick updates about their child (did they make a new friend at school? Did they accomplish something their Big would be excited about? Bigs love these informal updates!).  Bigs can also proactively reach out on off outing weeks to check get updates/check on their Little.
If you’re finding it difficult to establish these moments of getting to know your Big/guardian, speak with your Match Support Coordinator for more insights and ideas.