YouTube video snippet on our 8 Habits workshop.
Habit #1 is Safety. Because… Safety First!
It is kind of like Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the bottom of the pyramid are the basic needs – food, water, security, and SAFETY.
These needs must be met first in order to address the more psychological needs of esteem, belonging, and love.
Highly-effective afterschool leaders keep kids and each other safe – physically safe and emotionally safe.
Leaders ensure there are NO safety or health hazards in the area. They protect kids from even potential hazards like caustic art materials, cleaning agents, medications, sharp knives, hot liquids, etc. They check equipment for active play, and make sure it is safe.
Afterschool leaders ensure the program community works together to keep the facilities clean. They make sure there are adequate hand-washing facilities and supplies and that we ALL wash our hands frequently.
Leaders create or maintain systems that are in place to protect the children from harm, when they move from one place to another or use the rest room - systems to keep unauthorized people from taking children from the program.
Afterschool leaders carefully supervise children according to their level of responsibility. They note when children arrive, when they leave, and with whom they leave. They know where the children are and what they are doing at all times. And they increase the level of supervision even more when they are engaged in higher risk activities.
