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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/20/2009 7:51:16 PM
Posts: 7,
Visits: 16
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| I seem to be on this board a lot lately. LOL I have another issue that I would like advice on. We average 30 kids in our 5-11 year old group and 8 in our 2-4 year old group. We had 8 adult volunteers plus 5 youth that were helping up until recently. Within the last two months we have had 4 adult volunteers leave due to burnout and/or personal reasons. Just this week a new program was started for the youth so we've lost all of them. This leaves only 4 of us on a rotation schedule, 2 each working every other week. I'm concerned about the adult/child ratio, especially in the older group. Some of the older kids help with the younger ones, but there's only so much they can do. Then there's the problem with kids leaving the room to use the restroom. With no one monitoring the hallways, there's the chance of one of the kids walking out, which has happened before. Ultimately, the SP is in charge because we have no director. The church is in the process of finding a new one. I would like to talk to the SP about limiting the number of kids. I'm not trying to make anyone angry, but I would rather have a bunch of angry parents than compromise the kids' safety. Has anyone ever done this and how did it work for you?
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Forum Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/2/2009 10:29:31 AM
Posts: 26,
Visits: 28
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| At my previous church, the ratio was 1 teacher per 8 children for ages 2+. (With a minimum of 2 adults in the room so no one was ever alone with the kids.) Sometimes due to holidays, vacations, or sickness we had a lot of teachers out, and we had to turn kids away. While we had a few angry parents, most appreciated that we cared more about the kids' safety than about cramming them all in. Sometimes parents would come in the room so that we could take their child plus 7 more. That was a hard and fast rule for ages 2-1st grade. In our 2nd-5th grade area, we were a little bit more lax on that ratio.
Ali Thompson
Curriculum Editor
Group Publishing
970-292-4365
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Forum Expert
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/8/2009 3:46:24 PM
Posts: 395,
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I think it's great that you're concerned enough to even consider limiting your numbers. I am blessed to be in a community ministry where we have 10 adults and 4 youth who work with 40 children. We always have at least 2 adults or 1 adult and 1 youth with each group of kids at any time with a door closed. We have enlisted parents and grandparents to just rotate with the kids to keep this ratio in place. We have very limited preparation for most leaders, which prevents burn-out. We do a VBS style rotation with an opening and closing for everybody, and rotate cl for brief sessions. By asking parents and grandparents to be involved, we have developed great ministers by discipling them and giving them a chance. I know a lot of churches want seasoned leaders, but they often know how it could be done better, and don't work well as team players.
I would be very concerned about your ratio. One issue you mentioned was the hallway/bathroom problem. We always have one leader, usually our tech guy, who is the resident principal/disciplinarian. We have youth who are available for the potty runs, time keepers and general gophers. Maybe that would work for you too. Our teens work on skits and puppet skits in the main room, which is where everyone p through to go to the bathroom. Maybe you could have a few people work on things in the main walkway, and the bathroom issue would be eliminated.
Best of luck, and we'd like to hear how things work out for you in your ministry.
Oh, your senior pastor will definitely have an opinion on things, but honestly, he may be out of touch with children's issues or unfamiliar with current safety standards.
Blessings,
Shawn Parker
Vision Ministries
Eddy, TX
Shawn Parker
Eddy, Texas
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