Child Managment

Contents Safety & Quality Guide

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Students come to us to learn and following directions is crucial in facilitating that. That includes students, parents, colleagues, and yourself. Discipline or behavior management is not about punishment; it’s about thoughtfully getting the results needed for the success of the team. With behavior management, it helps to remember, that kids (and even adults) are doing the best with the information they have. Our job is to improve the information they get.

Essential Expectations

The first day of a program should begin with an introduction to the 3 Rules and Code. While introducing these, ask students to give examples of ways to carry out the Code in their personal and group interactions at camp. This is the time to set expectations to prevent inappropriate interactions, such as bullying. This is the time we set our students up for successful behavior, based on common knowledge and agreed-upon goals. Assertively maintain expectations and boundaries firmly from the very start of you program, but don’t be a jerk. You set the tone for your program as soon as you start interacting with participants.

Behavior Management Procedure

We always focus on being positive role models and using positive reinforcement to accomplish challenging tasks. When challenging behavior first comes up, proactively try redirection as your first option. If redirection doesn’t work, employ these three steps in order:

Triage of Behavior Management

• Ask if the student understands why their behavior is not working. If they cannot articulate it, explain the problem, focusing on the desired behavior you would like the student to progress into. Stay in an Open Area or, if possible, have another staff member present during behavior discussions with students.
• Set clear expectations for how they should modify the behavior, as well as a timeline for improvement. Consistently help keep them on track.
• If they are unable to modify their behavior within the set timeline, have them sit out of the activity. Alert your Coordinator if behavior management gets to this point.
• If the above strategies do not solve the issue, consult your Coordinator and identify relevant consequences. More serious consequence options include:
  • Parents come and pick them up immediately.
  • They miss the next day of the program.
  • They are permanently expelled from the program (Director involvement is required).

In all cases, follow through with any stated consequences. Children need to feel secure that if an adult says something will happen, they can be trusted to follow through, even with things that they might not like in the moment. Consequences should never be a punishment, nor presented as such. Consequences are a time for the student to reflect upon their decisions and consider how to correct their behavior. It can be an opportunity for the student to figure out how they are going to rejoin the group, create equilibrium, and help function as a member of a healthy community or team.

Equitable Share of Attention

When managing student behavior, remember that your job as a Teacher is to ensure that everyone participating in a program gets a “fair share” of your attention. When any participant requires more than their fair share of attention in order to remain safe and to participate in program activities, you should attempt to reestablish equity of attention for other students. For more details on how to do this, please see our Equitable Share of Attention Policy.

Remember Escalate mitigative action when physical and/or emotional damage is taking place.

Rules of Behavior Management

• Behavior that is physically or emotionally threatening to a fellow student, staff member or property could result in the immediate dismissal of the offending student.
• Physical discipline, or even threatening or joking about physical discipline, is never acceptable.
• Physical contact or restraint of students NOT be used to manage behavior. Do NOT put your hands on a student to move them. The only exceptions to this policy is for safety purposes and outlined in the following section Dangerous Behavior Response.

Follow-up

At pick-up, the Coordinator will inform the parent or guardian of any inappropriate behavior. If there is an immediate need, or you are at overnight program, a call home to inform and request strategies used by parents can be an option for minor behavioral issues. If behavior management results in a serious discussion with guardians, or being sent home, consult with your Coordinator and fill out an Incident Report regarding the behavior. Most often parents provide very useful strategies for redirecting their child’s behavior, however, on occasion they do not. If you find yourself in a situation where a parent insists on under-disciplining or over-disciplining their child, involve your Coordinator immediately.

Dangerous Behavior Response

Behavior causing urgent safety hazards results in immediate removal of the student from the circumstances to prevent further risk to themselves or others. In the event that a participant is behaving in ways dangerous to themselves and to others, remember these basic rules: Keep yourself and everyone safe at all times.

Minor or Low-Risk

If the behavior is minor or low-risk, first redirect using standard behavior management procedures (see previous page). Make sure your other participants are well supervised.

Example If a participant is trying to leave the site, but not about to step into a road or other hazardous areas, talk with the participant about the dangers they are placing themselves in.

Major or High-Risk

A high-risk situation creates an immediate safety threat to staff or students.

Example If a participant attempts to leave the group and is headed towards a road or other dangerous area, stand between them and that area.

If at all possible, maintain safety without restraining the student. If standard Behavior Management techniques are not working and a high-risk incident occurs, follow as many of these steps as possible:

• Alert a Coordinator on-site via radio. Follow Radio Protocol.
• Ask other staff to remove other participants from the area while you handle the behavior (e.g. “Miles, please take the group over to those tables by the bathrooms”).
• Place yourself between participant and danger, while maintaining your personal safety.
• Assume a nonthreatening posture (get down at child’s level). Keep you hands in front of your body and free in case you need to block a punch if the student does attack.
• Speak in a soothing voice, calling the student by name. Attempt to redirect the behavior. Tell the student what you want them to do and do not lie to the student about what you will or will not do.
• Approach the upset student slowly, from the front and slightly to one side. Leave the student personal space, maintain eye contact, and speak softly.
• If a child runs, follow them to prevent them from getting hurt. Update your Coordinator on your position via radio. If you have to follow a student alone, video with your cell phone camera.
• After safety is established, the Coordinator immediately calls and notifies the parent.
• AVOID language that suggest orders such as “You have to wait here,” or “You must put the bow down.” Demanding language may further trigger an aggressive response.
• USE compassionate language such as “Can you help me by waiting here?”

Restraint

In the event a student violently acts out against other students or staff, you may need to physically restrain them. Physically restrain a participant only if absolutely necessary, as a last resort, and if you can do so while protecting your own safety. Use the following protocol.

• Stay calm and focus on deescalation. Do not get caught up in a power struggle.
• Keep yourself safe: make sure you cannot get head-butted, kneed or kicked. Even a 6-year-old child can break your nose, teeth, or ribs with a head-butt or knee.
• Use a Basket Hold technique. See Child Restraint Policy.
• Make absolutely sure the participant can breathe. Do not hold them face down on any surface. Avoid their neck and chest.
• Tell participant you will release them when they are calm, safe, and in control of themselves.
• Do not maintain the hold for more than two minutes. As you approach the two-minute mark, tell them you are going to release them and that they need to be calm or you will have to restrain them again.

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