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

[Barbara Wells]

 Our policy states  that parents may not leave children , under the age of
six unattended in the library and are responsible for their children's
behavior while in the library.We added the definition  of " Unattended "
which  means that the parent is not in the building with the child . If it
is determined that a child is lost or or left unattended , a staff member
should bring the child to the person on duty in the children's room. The
children's librarian shall then try to identify and locate the parents or
responsible adults. It goes on to explain   what steps should be followed.
Babs @ Greenville


On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 1:53 PM Kimberly Usselman <kusselman at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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=DwIFaQ&c=tSLbvWYfvulPN3G_n48TUw&r=L_-4KCeL1NFTCgbBWGLXptRx_tYoPpZbpMOWv0nrAy0&m=XZ4lwYu0ChMcdI4ka4w_mu7jis0PerEAQFzRlpWY62c&s=J43JnJn2eeFTM_Mk3LDjrBqh9whFO-1kDdBbTBSnHBw&e= 
> [cumberlandlibrary.org]
> <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=DwMFaQ&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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>
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