Please read and acknowledge by checking off each of the Safety and Electronic Communications Policies. Parents please note if you are filling this out for your child they must read, acknowledge and sign all of these policies themselves!
No leader should be alone with a child. There must be two people with the child at all times. A married couple counts as one (so there would need to be a third person where husband and wife were serving together).
I understand the need to arrive early so that there is no delay in receiving kids (MUST be there 30 minutes before start time).
If the child has an allergy, the parent will fill out an allergy tag. Be on the lookout for these and make other leaders aware, so that kids are not given snacks they are allergic to.
If there is ANY sort of injury to a child, leader needs to be notified and then guide will take child to First Aid Station. First Aid WILL fill out an Incident Report and ask the Leader to sign it.
Lap sitting is not permitted. At no time should a child sit in the lap of anyone, even if it is your own kid.
When a child /children need to use the bathroom, there must be 2 volunteers and at least 2 children going to the restrooms at all times. Single Volunteer and Child restroom use is NOT PERMITTED!
No carrying of kids. No piggyback, shoulder or other rides.
Hugs: Side Hugs = ok / Front Hugs = no. The meaning of all touch should be clear. A high-five and a side hug is clearly understood. A Front Hug is not and can be confusing and uncomfortable for kids.
In order to give kids full attention, we discourage the use of handheld electronic devices during KidsGames.
Volunteers should not post pictures of the kids they work with in our ministry to their social media accounts.
Generally speaking, we do not encourage direct contact between volunteers and kids. Any attempts to contact (for example, to give information about an event) should be routed through parents.
It is not uncommon for older elementary/early middle school kids to own cell phones and to either initiate or desire communication with their leaders. The rest of this policy addresses these instances.
It is unwise and unethical to communicate with kids without parents’ knowledge.
Before any electronic communication happens, a volunteer must meet and introduce themselves to the parent(s), and the parents must be made aware of the intention for the volunteer and their kid to be in communication with each other. Parents’ wishes will always be honored.
It is against the policies of Facebook, Instagram, and most other social media apps for kids under 13 to have accounts. Therefore, volunteers will not be “friends” or follow or be followed by kids on social media, even with parents’ approval. Instagram accounts must be set to private to allow leaders to approve or reject followers.
It is the volunteer’s responsibility to ensure that the purpose and meaning of messages is always clear. Volunteers must make sure that they are not unintentionally communicating things that are hurtful or inappropriate. Because it’s easy for things to get “lost in translation” when communicated over texts, face-to-face communication is always preferred, followed by phone conversations.
Communications via text or e-mail are not acceptable at anytime. Kids are not your peers.
Sending messages that are crude, vulgar, obscene, or suggestive are inappropriate. Volunteers should be aware that sending links can lead kids to visit other pages on the Internet that might be inappropriate for them, even if what you sent them to initially was harmless. When in doubt, do not forward messages or links.
If volunteers receive messages from kids that are inappropriate or questionable, they will keep a record of it (by printing e-mails or taking screenshots) and immediately notify the KidsGames Directors or Director of Whole Life Sports.
I understand that the responsibility for appropriate communication with kids lies with me. I agree not to communicate with kids in the ministry unless I have first established contact with their parent.
