[kids-lib] unattended kids

[Rita Squires]

It's not just the unattended children (and just lately it has been the tweens/young teens that have been the problem), it's the inattentive parents as well.  No words of wisdom or advice, just sharing our experience; so nice to know that we are not the only ones. 

Our children's area is busier than ever, which is a good thing; and we are seeing a lot of new faces, also a good thing.  We have parents (often just one, but sometimes both) coming in and hanging out with their children for hours at a time.  Yesterday it was a mom and 3 youngsters (ages about 5-9) who were here for about 4 hours.  They enjoyed a snack at the table, but left such a mess on the floor that I had to bring out the vacuum. A couple of the biggest things, at least for me, is that none of the children know how to behave in the library; and parents aren't cleaning up after their children, nor making them clean up their own messes.  Multiple times a day I have to tell kids to stop running. Yesterday it was the same group of kids, the third time I walked over to them and told them that if I had to speak to them once more, they were going to have to sit down for a time out. (The parents were all sitting at the other end of the room, either on their cell phones, or talking to each other.) That did the trick for a few minutes; then the oldest, probably about 7 or 8, came up to me and asked "if you're not the boss of me, how can you put me in time out?"  The best response I could come up with was "because I'm the boss of this room!" We did talk about whether or not it was ok to run inside (she said that her mom let's her run in the house), and how if she can't run in a classroom, she can't run in here.

I have discovered that if I know the child's name, and call them by name when speaking to them, I get better response.  I love that we are so busy, and so glad to see all the new faces, especially when I seem them again at storytimes or other events. But I do wish that if they see their little ones pulling books or DVDs off the shelf, they'd help pick them up off the floor, not walk away.  

Would love to hear what others are experiencing this summer; and what, if any, solutions you have come up with.


Rita Squires
Children's Services Coordinator
The Dalles-Wasco Public Library, 722 Court St, The Dalles, OR 97058
(541)296-2815

"Reading a really good book is like reading a part of the author's heart."  (Kevin Frederick - my 9 year old son, after reading the last of the Indian in the Cupboard series)
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:49:19 +0000
From: janee cplib.net <janee at cplib.net>
To: "kids-lib at omls.oregon.gov" <kids-lib at omls.oregon.gov>
Subject: Re: [kids-lib] Kids-lib Digest, Vol 244, Issue 4
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Hello fellow librarians,

We are in the thick of our summer programs here and finding that unattended children at the library has had a steep increase from all prior years.

I'm reaching out in order to learn and hopefully to help in some way to solve this problem.

May I ask what your policies are and what you are doing with this scenario at your library this summer?

Thank you.

~ Janee Lensing
Curry Public Library
Gold Beach, OR 97444
541-247-7246
janee at cplib.net