Make After-school Program A Way To Increase Children’s Safety
For many parents, balancing work time with time with their children has been a struggle. With the development of the female workplace, more and more families have both parents working. “In nearly half of all two-parent families today, both parents work full time, a sharp increase from previous decades.” (Miller 2015) Eight traditional American business hours leave many parents with little time to look after their children. “Of full-time working parents, 39 percent of mothers and 50 percent of fathers say they feel as if they spend too little time with their children. Fifty-nine percent of full-time working mothers say they don’t have enough leisure time , and more than half of working fathers say the same.” (Miller 2015) This situation will greatly increase the risk of children’s safety, and the After-school program can solve this problem to a certain extent and prevent children from being left alone.
The same problem happens in New Brunswick city. The primary school hours in New Brunswick can not match business working hours. Taking Roosevelt Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Livingston Elementary School as examples, most primary schools in New Brunswick open from 8:50 AM — 3:15 PM from Monday to Friday (Friday school hours might change). 3:15 PM, as schools close, is still work time for most people. It is very common for parents, especially families with both parents working, to be busy during weekdays, school summer vacation and winter vacation. The vulnerability here is parents are unable to take care of their children during these time periods. The fact that parents are unable to take care of their children during the working hours exacerbates the likelihood that children will face safety concerns.
After school programs can help solve this problem. “After school programs provide not only a safe place to go, but also provide our youth with necessary workforce development skills, while equipping them with life skills that will nurture and encourage positive, healthy choices.” (NJOST 2022)
The creative intervention for the project is to set up a mural in the densest area of New Brunswick city; the mural will be around with Elementary schools. This location is conducive to maximizing the display of the mural to parents of elementary school students in the city. The mural will help promote the after school program to the public, especially parents for the young teenagers. Mural’s content showcases children’s participation in the after school program, with at least one adult leader. The mural can help remind parents to take care of their children, and do not let kids stay alone.
The community of benefits here are murals that can make parents realize the importance of children’s safety, and also provide an “after school program” as a solution for parents who are busy with work to ask somebody to take care of kids. On the other hand, after school programs such as painting, learning musical instruments, visiting exhibitions, etc., can ensure that children are supervised while parents are working, and allow children to develop personal skills out of school.
The change agents for the project can include New Brunswick Youth Service System, New Brunswick Department of Education, New Brunswick Student Support Services Office, New Brunswick Summer and Winter Camp Agency. These change agents can provide parents with information about after school programs, help children, and monitor the quality and safety of programs.
The project is open to all the public, stakeholders can be all parents and children in New Brunswick city, especially for families of both parents working.
This creative intervention can arouse people’s thinking about child safety issues, strengthen parents’ attention to their children, and better balance work and time with their children. Helps provide a way to look after children even when parents are busy. This approach could increase the level of safety for children in New Brunswick.
Reference
(Claire Cain Miller Nov.4, 2015) Stressed, Tired, Rushed: A Portrait of the Modern Family. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/upshot/stressed-tired-rushed-a-portrait-of-the-modern-family.html
(NJOST April. 27, 2022) Afterschool Programs
