"We don't let children sit on grass, anymore." I heard this from a scout leader. Her reasoning was around the risk from E.coli bacteria infection. If the children are in a soggy field surrounded by cow pats, I can understand her concerns. But good hand hygiene will mitigate this risk.
"We sterilise leaves before we let the children play with them." The staff in this nursery did admit that this spoiled the leaves. They kept crumbling. Again, good hand hygiene practice will ensure this measure is not necessary.
"Children must wear cycle helmets when using trikes in our nursery. We have helmets that the children use." Many road safety officers worry about this particular measure. It is important for children to understand the reasons for wearing cycle helmets. However, helmets have to be properly fitted. Otherwise they are of limited value and send the wrong message to children. So if every child has their own helmet, clearly labelled and properly fitted, it's fine. If this isn't the situation, settings may as well not bother!" Ouch!
"Drawstring bags are not allowed. There's a risk that children could be strangled."
Yes this is a risk. It might happen. In my experience, most children have more sense. A wee talk about appropriate use of a bag can help along with supervision and sensible behaviour expectations in a class.
"Health and Safety Bans Bunting" This was the HSE Myth of the Month last August. The Health and Safety Executive are not "Bunting Busters". This organisation likes seeing people celebrate in style!
One interesting fact that I have discovered whilst interviewing staff who take children to their local woods for learning and play, is that accidents happen less often in the woods than back in the playground. One Primary 6 child summed it up nicely, "If you trip on tarmac, you scrape your knees and it really hurts. If you fall over a branch the woods, you land on leaves."
6 comments:
Wow, and we wonder why every one is like a cotton baby~ Let's play in the grass!!!!
Love it Juliet - totally agree with the P6 child about the woods - our children bounce back up when they fall in the woods but not when they hit they tarmac!
Stearalizing LEAVES!? :) WOW! can't sit on the grass!? It's a wonder we made it to adulthood! I remember running around our yard and the corn fields with no shoes or socks on...climbing up into the rafters of the barn, playing in the hay bales pretending they were our houses...carrying a chicken around as a "pet" under my arm and rescuing baby birds and feeding them with an eye dropper! Certainly no stearalizing going on there! And, suprisingly, I'm healthy and survived my minor bumps and bruises of childhood! :)
A world gone mad Juliet.
I'm scratching my head trying to think of an injury that has happened to any of our kids in the 5 years I have been working at preschool and taking the kids out into the bush. I'm sure there have been some scrapes - I know a few have slipped over on slippery rocks near the creek (they are more careful the next time!) but nothing that has ever needed attention.
This is despite sitting on the grass (gasp) touching leaves (gasp) clammering over rocks and logs and paddling in creeks.
We always take our first aid kit with us, along with epipens and we all know what to do in case of insect/snake bite so we are prepared.
In all the time Sherry and I were teaching together we had two major accidents... one children tripped over a skipping rope landing on the concrete and broke his arm while another ran into one of the swing poles and broke his arm ... no one ever did too much damage running around on the grass or climbing and falling out of our trees or bushes. Come to think of it Juliet no-one contracted any kind of disease from playing on the grass or digging in the dirty gardens either! Maybe Jenny is right ... is the world going mad?!
Donna :) :)
Incredible! Great information to share and great myths to dispell!!
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