Safety

Kids’ Club is a place for kids to understand how they can be part of God’s story. A place to build authentic connections and experience what Jesus’ love feels like. A place for fun and laughter and acting their age. But none of that’s possible if it isn’t safe.

There are a few big things that make–and keep–Kids’ Club safe. First, there’s the sticker system. Every kid and parent gets one with matching numbers. Not only does it make it easy to contact parents if a kid needs something, it also ensures that the right person picks that kid up. It doesn’t matter if the parent without a sticker is your best friend: everybody’s got to have a sticker to get a kid. Just ask your BFF to show ID (show visuals for both acronyms….”Best Friend Forever”…”Identification”) at the Welcome Center to get a new one printed, because we make no exceptions. That’s right, we stick to the policy.

Then there’s the cardinal rule of Kids’ Club: never, ever, ever be alone with a kid. Ever. There must be at least two volunteers with any number of kids. At all times. This is actually for our safety, too.

Along those lines, we’ve got specific diaper-changing and bathroom policies for younger kids. They’re posted in all rooms preschool and younger, so make sure you’ve got them down. If you want more info, check out our potty policy videos…and or download our Potty Party song!

Of course, sometimes safety means being prepared for the worst. We’ve got a plan for a tornado, fire or calling 911. To find these plans, check out the safety manual. There’s one hanging up in every room.

In those manuals, we’ve also got incident reports. If a kid gets hurt, even a little, fill it out. Let a parent know what happened and give them the bottom part so they know who to contact with questions. Then hand the top of the report off at the Kids’ Club desk on your way out, so a staff member can follow up.

When it comes down to it though, plans and policies only work when people enforce them. So it’s us volunteers who hold down the fort. Before we join a team, we’re background-checked and trained, through things like KC101, observing in rooms and watching videos like this.

The exciting thing is, when we make this a safe place, parents and guardians will trust us and keep bringing their kids. And kids will be fully cared for and free to have fun, make friends and–most importantly–encounter Jesus. So even though we like to think of Kids’ Club as a party, let’s make sure it’s the safest party around. Thanks for being a part of the team!