Organization suggest talking to teens about protecting themselves from allegations

Print

E-mail

Text

Related Stories

• Tips to keep children and teens safe on the job

Each year thousands of Ontario teens go out into the workforce to find summer jobs.

Safety should be on the forefront of parents' minds, finding out the answers to questions such as "Will my kids be trained and supervised properly?" and "Are they going to be safe?" But these aren't the only questions that should be asked, said Melodie Bissell, president and CEO of Winning Kids Inc.

There's another type of safety that parents or teens don't want to think about but nonetheless needs to be brought into the open, and that is how our are kids being protected from abuse.

"It's not really talked about and people's eyes aren't really open to it but there are risk factors such as allegations and suspicions and have they put those safety precautions in place?" she said.

The reason for this is twofold; to protect the children from potential abusers as well as protect the teen worker from being put into a position of being falsely accused, both of which have painful consequences for all involved.

Thousands of kids are gearing up to have summer jobs that include camp counsellors, babysitters, lifeguards, tutors or parks and recreation staff. All these jobs, Bissell said, carry a potential risks that must be considered.

Bissell recalls a story that happened five years ago to a Toronto teen named Alex that drives this point home. The 17-year-old was hired as a youth worker at a day camp when he was falsely accused of abusing a little girl.

"This was a little girl who didn't like the fact that the other team received the prizes for winning the camp Olympics and when she asked (Alex) for one and he refused, she became upset she didn't get one and she wanted to get him in trouble," Bissell said.

Allegations like that devastate people's lives, Bissell said, so it's better to be as informed as possible so your teen doesn't fall victim to such a scenario.

Often times, she said, the training for a job involves preparation for the physical work and the safety procedures taught are for their physical safety, not for potential abuse dangers.

"They prepare what games they will play or what they will do by the fire, but very little time spent on protection of the children and how can we protect ourselves from allegations," Bissell said.

So Bissell suggested parents should step up and ask supervisors the tough questions to avoid their child being abused, or being accused of abuse. This should include questions such as: What screening process do you put staff through; what's the ratio of staff to child; and what is the protocol if the suspicion of abuse arises?

Because scenarios like Alex's are happening more often, and not properly addressed in initial safety procedures or training, Bissell has added this educational component to Winning Kids' repertoire.

Unfortunately, Bissell said, children continue to be abused at the hands of youth workers and volunteers, while some workers are falsely accused. While you can't remove risk completely, you can minimize it, she said.