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Parents- what is OK at a group for children?

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I am a leader at a group for 6-9 year old children. I moved from one district to another when I went to university. At my old district, the leaders joined in with all the games in the interests of equality between leaders and children (also because it was fun). At my new district we hardly join in any games because tigging etc would involve touching the children and that is against child protection procedures. Friends who help at different children's groups tell me they pick up kids when they are misbehaving- things would certainly be easier if I could do that. Then when I went to volunteer at a Bulgarian orphanage, the children all wanted to hug me, sit on my knee, hold my hand, be picked up and spun round, dance with me... stuff I would never have done at home, but it is hard to explain child protection procedures in Bulgarian so I just went with it. It would be interesting to see what parents thought about this issue.
In which of the following instances do you think the adult is justified in touching the 6-9 year old child?
The adult tigs the child as part of a game
The child has to tig the adult as part of a game
Both adult and child play a game where people touch each others clothes/hair
The group runs the activity where everyone sits on each other's lap at once
The group does a hand and foot massaging session and the adult demonstrates on the child
The child is climbing and the adult is close behind them in case they fall
The child is climbing and the adult is actively supporting them or being used as a foothold
The child refuses to sit in the circle so the adult picks them up and puts them there
The child goes into a prohibited area so the adult carries them elsewhere
Two children are fighting and the adult has to physically seperate them
One child is badly misbehaving so the adult carries them somewhere to calm down
The child is hurt so the adult puts a plaster on them
The child is injured so the adult puts a bandage on them
The child has to go to hospital so the adult carries them to the car
The child is crying so the adult hugs the child
The child asks to be hugged and the adult obliges
The child asks to be picked up/spun round/given a piggyback and the adult obliges
The group is watching something but the smallest child can't see so they sit on the adult's shoulder
1 child is slowing the group down on a walk so the adult carries them for a bit
On a trip, the adult holds the child's hand to stop them running into the road
The adult holds the child's hand as part of an activity
The adult is face painting the child and touches their face
The adult is teaching the recovery position with a child playing the casualty
It is never OK for a adult who is not the child's parent to touch the child under any circumstance
In which of these circumstances is it OK for the adult to be alone with the children?
Each adult is working with a small group of kids in different areas of the hall
Each adult is working with a small group in adjacent rooms
The adults have activities at different stops in the wood for children to go to
One adult is running a cooking activity and children go to see them in small groups
A child is upset and the adult talks to them alone in an adjacent room
A child needs some time out of the meeting to calm down, and the adult supervises them
A child is misbehaving badly and the adult takes them out of the room to talk about their behaviour
2 kids are fighting and the adult tries to settle the argument with them outside
The adult does 1st Aid on the child away from the group so they don't upset the injured child
A child is injured and the adult drives them to hospital alone
There must be at least 2 unrelated adults with any child/children at all times
What should be allowed in the way of nudity?
The group should be able to run swimming trips
At a paddling session a boy forgets his trunks, so he's allowed in in boxers
At a paddling session a boy forgets his trunks, so he's allowed in in briefs
A girl forgets her swimsuit, so she's allowed in in underwear too
On a group night a boy takes his T-shirt off and runs round topless
On a group night a girl takes her T-shirt off and runs round topless
On a group night a boy takes his trousers off
On a group night a girl takes her trousers off
A child hurts their knee, so the 1st-aider asks them to roll up their trousers
A child hurts their thigh, so the 1st-aider asks them to remove their trousers
A leader is present while kids of the same sex change after a wet activity
A leader is present while kids of either sex change after a wet activity
At my group there seem to be 2 types of leader- parents (either of children in the group or of children who have move to the next age group) and younger adults, like myself, who have moved up through the age groups and gone on to lead in order to stay involved. The age range is usually 16-early twenties (I'm 20) but there was a 14-year old helper at my last group. Providing all adults are CRB checked, would your answers to the previous 3 questions have been different for the 2 types of leader?
No, an adult is an adult
My answer would depend on the individuals but not on broad groups like that
Yes, I would be stricter as to what younger adults were allowed to do
Yes, I would be stricter as to what parents were allowed to do
I don't think young adults should be allowed to lead at all
In the situations with one adult and one child, would the sex of the adult and child have made a difference?
No
I would be stricter if the child was a boy
I would be stricter if the child was a girl
I would be stricter if the adult was a man
I would be stricter if the adult was a woman
I would be stricter if they were the same sex
I would be stricter if they were opposite sexes
I would be stricter if the adult was straight
I would be stricter if the adult was gay
I heard a school banned filming of the nativity play in case paedophiles watched it. What do you think of that?
A wise precaution
I would ban filming of a swimming event, but a play is going too far
It's pointless because paedophiles could be in the audience anyway
It's an overreaction- how many paedophiles can there be?
It's stupid, the kids aren't being harmed so why object?
If paedophiles can get their kicks from a nativity play rather than child porn, let them watch
Back to the kids group- is it OK for adults to enjoy the games?
Sure, I bet most adults would given the chance
A bit odd, but not a problem
I don't think you should be playing games, but you can't help liking them.
That sounds strange, I wouldn't want you looking after my kids.
What provisios should there be for putting photos of kids on the web?
You should never put photos of children on the web
Their names shouldn't be in the caption
You should only post large group shots, not ones that show detail of individual children
You should ask the children's permission first
You should ask the parents' permission first
You shouldn't post pictures of swimming sessions
You should set up a messageboard and remove the pictures if you get dodgy messages
I don't see what the problem with this is- just post them
Do you think this issue varies from culture to culture?
Yes, some countries are more tactile than others
Yes, some countries are more relaxed and open than others
Yes, countries have different attitudes towards contact between males and females
Yes, partial nudity is more acceptable in some countries than others
Yes, some countries expect responsibility at a younger age than others
No, adults should be touching children as little as possible wherever they are from
No, all countries are pretty much the same on this
No, child protection is fixed even if adult-adult scenarios are different
What do you think of my experiences in Bulgaria?
If the children were asking for/initiating the contact, that's fine
They must have a more tactile culture there. It was appropriate there but not here
I think that kind of contact would be OK in the UK
It was OK there because they were orphans who are deprived of parental contact
It's disrespectful to Bulgarian kids to treat them differently to English kids
You should have had better command of the language and explained why you shouldn't touch them
That's a bit borderline. Try to be more resistant if you go there again
What you did was wrong. Adults should not hug or pick up children
What you did was badly wrong. Adults should only touch children when absolutely neccessary
You should stop volunteering at the youth group now and never go to Bulgaria again
What do you think about parents who aren't leaders coming along to meetings?
Any parent should be able to come along and observe any group activity
Parents should sign up as adult members before attending any activity
Parents should have a full CRB check before attending any activity
Parents must become regular leaders if they want to come along to meetings
Any parent should be able to attend a weekly meeting but must sign up to go on an overnight trip
Any parent should be able to go to weekly meetings but should be CRB checked for overnight trips
Any parent should be able to go to weekly meetings but only regular leaders should go on overnight t
Parents must sign up to go to weekly meetings and be CRB checked for overnight trips
Parents must sign up to go to weekly meetings and become regular leaders if they want to go on an ov
Parents must be CRB checked for weekly meetings and become regular leaders to go on overnight trips
I would set a lower standard of security for overnight trips than weekly meetings
On camp...
All adults' tents must be well away from the children's tents
Only adults sharing tents with their kids should be able to camp in te kids area
Parents who share a tent with their kids must sleep in the adult area
Adults who haven't been CRB checked should have their tents well away from the children's tents
Adults who aren't parents should have their tents well away from the childrens tents
Adults' and children's tents should be interspersed for easier supervision
In this age group, all the kids should be sharing a tent with a parent
Adults and children should not be allowed in the same tent, even if they are related
What about mixed tent sharing?
No, they're too young
Only under special circumstances
Only if they're brother and sister
Only if a parent is also in the tent
Only if one would be scared without their brother/ sister/ best friend
Let them, they won't want to anyway
Why not? They're too young to get up to anything
If the group is staying at a youth hostel or bunk barn, under what circumstances should adults be allowed into a childrens' dormitory?
At any time
Anytime except when kids might be getting changed
Anytime so long as they knock first
When the kids are getting ready for a walk, to make sure they have everything
At bedtime, to make sure they are going to bed not messing around
A little after bedtime, to make sure lights are out and no-one is scared
If they hear a kid crying
If they suspect kids are fighting or something
If a child has been sick
If a child asks the adult to go in because they're scared
If a child has lost something and wants help finding it
Only first aiders should go in if they think they are needed
At a specified time to check that the room is tidy
Only adults of the same sex as the kids in the dorm should go in
Only parents of kids in the dorm should go in
Only adults who are parents (as opposed to young leaders) should go in
Only adults who have been CRB checked should go in
Adults should only go in in groups of 2 or more
No adults should go in at all
There shouldn't be a dorm. Everyone should have a parent with them and stay in a room with a parent
It's a good idea to have a couple of adults sleeping in the dorm to check that everyone's OK People
Not really a child protection question, but what do you think about younger brothers and sisters coming on overnight trips?
No, that is effectively lowering the age range and makes organisation more difficult
Only if both parents are coming and really can't find a babysitter
OK, but they must be accompanied by a parent and be the sole responsibility of the parent
Fine, anything that encourages more adults to come along
Sure, there's no harm in having a few 4-5 year olds along- the more the merrier!
This poll was created on 2003-10-03 12:38:15 by Juniper8