Youth Protection Program

[featherswillfly 10]

Dear Scouters,

April is our Youth Protection month. Every year our troop does this program when new boys crossover. We do the program with the parents and boys. My problem is this. This year we have no new boys coming to us. I still feel a refresher course in this topic is a good idea. The boys do not however want to watch the same video tapes over again. I need something new that the boys and parents haven't seen. You know same topic just presented differently. Most families will say "Oh we've seen that we don't need to go." but we all still want to keep this in front of us for safety. We have gotten the latest video out for older boys too, we used that last year. Suggestions please!!

[Bob White 20]

featherswillfly,

I appreciate your dilema however I strongly suggest you use the current viseo even if it was veiwed before. Remember it is unlikely that every boy remembers all the information in the program. Plus theu have aged another year and have another year of life experience that they bring with them to the session. Things in the video that didn't mean as much then might now.

 

My final point is please stick to the BSA produced materials. The 3 videos are age group specific. "It Happened to Me" for 6 to 9 year olds, "A Time to Tell" for 11 to 14 year olds, and "Youth Protection: Personal Safety Awareness 14 to 20 year olds.

 

Use whichever fits your specific group or groups. (follow the presention guidelines closely). I also recommend the the "Scoouting Magazine" reprint of "Words Can Hurt" May-June 1992. It discusses harassment and bullying. It is available through Scouting Magazine Division Reprint department in Quantities of 25, 100 and 200.

 

[sctmom 11]

The most recent Scouting magazine has an article on bullying. I skimmed the article, seems like this is a focus for BSA right now. Maybe there are some ideas from that article you could use.

 

[OldGreyEagle 5]

I see Youth Protection and Safety Afloat and Safe Swim defense as very similar. We do them every year, and every year the older scouts moan that they have seen it all before. I point out that Major League baseball players all know how to play baseball, but spring training is held anyway (usually quiets them down). The purpose of these programs is the inform the scouts about the safe way of doing things and of BSA'a program policy on these matters. I like the video's. A time to tell is quite explicit and shows pretty realisitc situations. The video gives exacttly what the boy is to do.

 

I would HATE to be in a troop that had a scout in an unforunate situation (perhaps related to scouts, perhaps not) and didnt know what to do and the troop was on record as not showing the Youth Protection Program videos for a few years because every one "knew it all"