[Young Adult and Children's Services Discussion List] Safe child/unattended child policies

[Kimberly Usselman]

Our safe child policy mentions that younger children should be with someone
that is responsible enough to manage their behavior, so it isn't just about
someone over a certain age watching someone younger than a certain age.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cumberlandlibrary.org_sites_default_files_attachments_Safe-2520Child-2520Policy-25202017.pdf-23overlay-2Dcontext-3Dpolicies-2Dplans-2Dforms&d=DwIBaQ&c=tSLbvWYfvulPN3G_n48TUw&r=L_-4KCeL1NFTCgbBWGLXptRx_tYoPpZbpMOWv0nrAy0&m=ZQ5q_7sYsm0Sgf1L-SQq8BniGBeIt883I-93Gnd6zws&s=NMXhUE1tQBNTZSjrUvbtAz8GXrnqFMP5z7BsKthtDKs&e= 



On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 10:46 AM Rashaa Al-Sasah <rashaa at wwpl.org> wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I am looking to amend our child policy and I would like to know what you
> all have been doing for yours.
> Our policy currently states basically that children 8+ can be at the
> library without a parent or guardian and younger children need a parent
> with them at all times which is fine. The problem I am having is parents
> leaving Older children ages 8+ who can be here alone along with the younger
> sibling in the older child's care. Whether this is an older sibling picking
> up the younger one after school and heading to the library or parents just
> dropping off the kids or parents attending to something elsewhere in the
> building. Sometimes the older sibling is responsible and sometimes its a
> problem.
>
> We have nothing to address this situation and its a weird grey area. I
> would like to clear this up by amending the policy to state something to
> the effect that children 10+ are allowed to care for a school-aged sibling
> while at the library but ultimately as our policy already states the
> Parent/guardian is responsible for the child's behavior if they are here or
> not.
>
> What do you have in your policy? Is ages 10+ and a school-aged younger
> sibling reasonable?
> Any other suggestions are welcome!
>
> Best,
> Rashaa
> --
>
>
>
> *Rashaa Al-Sasah, MLISHead of Teen ServicesPronouns:She/Her*
> *West Warwick Public library *
> *1043 Main St.*
> *West Warwick, RI 02893*
> *401-828-3750 ext.2*
> _______________________________________________
> RIYAC mailing list
> RIYAC at listserve.ri.gov
> http://listserve.ri.gov/mailman/listinfo/riyac
>


-- 

~ Kimberly Usselman ~

"Because that's what Hermione does,' said Ron, shrugging, 'When in doubt,
go to the library." - J.K. Rowling, *Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets*
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