Last week, our community was privileged to welcome Magen Yeladim’s Safety Kid program to Cleveland. The Los Angeles-based staff, including Debbie Fox, Yair Cohn, and Yelli Koenig, braved the Cleveland weather to provide us with a comprehensive community-wide child safety training program. Over the course of three days, staff and administration in the Jewish Day Schools here participated in specialized training sessions. Over 150 parents attended an educational evening with Debbie Fox.
Debbie Fox also trained parents to become community Safety Kid educators. I was privileged to be one of those parents. We will now be teaching the curriculum in the classrooms of two Jewish day Schools in Cleveland and will continue to do so on an annual basis. Our community was fortunate enough to receive funding for this critically important program through the Mount Sinai Foundation, A+Solutions, and community donors who wish to remain anonymous.
As a result of the implementation of the program, our community has become well versed in the A,B,C, and D’s of Safety which include the following:
A: Ask for Help: when in dangerous situations or lost. In cases of emergency, children must learn what they need to know and do and must be able to identify a TRUSTED ADULT.
B: Bring a Friend: Students are introduced to the concept of the ‘Buddy System’ which teaches them that it is always safer to go with a friend.
C: Check First: offers children tools of what to do when the telephone rings or a stranger knocks on their door at home. Children learn about the need to inform a TRUSTED ADULT when changing a plan, going with anyone elsewhere or accepting gifts.
D: Do Tell: introduces the concepts of ‘body ownership,’ ‘okay vs. not okay touch’ and the ‘NO-RUN-TELL’ rule. This part teaches a variety of strategies in how to respond when a child’s personal space or privacy is about to be or has been violated. Do Tell is the program’s key component and teaches children empowering actions and language to keep themselves safe.
I learned so much this past week and am glad to be a part of this program.
To bring this program to your community please contact:
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.