Day 1: Personal Safety

Venturer Scouts

Tips to share:

Ensure your own safety before trying to help others in an emergency.
Know how to perform first aid on yourself. There are ways to give yourself the Heimlich maneuver or to stop serious bleeding.
Ask for help if you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the challenges of school, Scouting, other extracurricular activities and your social life. A little helpful advice can go a long way.

Scouters’ tip: Smile! Laugh! Making a point of joking around every day can help to manage stress, improving your blood pressure and immune system.

How to Give Yourself Heimlich Maneuver | First Aid Training

Resources and Program Ideas:

Find out about your local crisis centre. Share its information with your youth. Let them know that there are places to turn to for discrete, expert help in times of need. For example, in Ottawa it is the Distress Centre Ottawa and Region

Day 2: Home and Family Safety

Tips to share:

Clean your dishes straight away to keep a hygienic kitchen.
If you find mold in your home, know that it can be toxic. This may need to be safely dealt with by professionals. Don’t assume that it’s safe to clean up yourself.
Follow recommended safety procedures when using equipment such as lawn mowers and snow blowers. There should be notices on the equipment, and important precautions will be included in manuals. Have a parent or guardian teach you how to use these kinds of tools.

Scouters’ tip: Clean and empty bird baths, pool covers and other traps for standing water to discourage mosquito breeding and prevent the spread of West Nile Virus. Encourage youth to do the same.

Resources and Program Ideas:

Review these checklists to see what changes can be made for a safer home.

Day 3: Street and Community Safety

Tips to share:

Remember to check over your shoulder before changing lanes when cycling or driving.
Do a circle check before getting into the car to drive.
Keep the volume down on your car stereo. Remember that you need to be able to hear the horns of other drivers and the sirens of emergency vehicles.

Scouters’ tip: Fall is the last opportunity for bears to fatten up for their winter hibernation, and there’s less to eat in the forest than in the summer. Make sure that your youth are aware that bears may be coming into some neighbourhoods looking for food. Teach youth how to behave when encountering a bear in the neighbourhood.

Resources and Program Ideas:

Visit your local paramedics, or have a representative visit the Company to provide professional safety advice.
Learn about how to be safe when encountering bears in your neighbourhood.

Day 4: Camps and Outings Safety

Tips to share:

Regularly locate yourself on a map.
Bring your cellphone on outings—but have the discipline to treat it as a device for emergencies.
Practice different methods for lighting fires. Be prepared for the challenge of wet tinder and wet matches.

Scouters’ tip: Be sure the Company has an emergency kit on all outings. Ensure it’s restocked after supplies are used.

Resources and Program Ideas:

Research the big and small, likely and unlikely hazards of the wilderness you’re visiting. For instance, on Vancouver Island.

Day 5: Bullying and Verbal Abuse

Tips to share:

Be aware that words and expressions can be hurtful, even if they’re not intended that way.
If you’re being bullied, don’t bully back. Escalating a conflict will probably make it worse.
Avoid fighting. Anything can happen in a physical fight. You could get seriously hurt, or you could wind up in serious trouble if you hurt somebody else.

Scouters’ tip: Have an explicit “No Bullying” policy for the Company. Encourage a discussion through the youth leadership early in the Scouting year.

Resources and Program Ideas:

Listen to Rick Mercer rant and get fired up (in a good way).
Listen to Rick rant some more, and get even more fired up.
Learn what more can be done.

RMR: Rick's Rant - Bullying - It Gets Better

Rick Mercer: Rant: Teen Suicide

Day 6: Internet and Mobile Phone Safety

Tips to share:

Don’t leave your mobile phone untended.
Lock your computer when you’re not using it.
Carefully manage the privacy settings for online profiles.

Scouters’ tip: Don’t text and drive.

Resources and Program Ideas:

Set limits on your screen time.

Disconnecting from Technology

Day 7: Halloween Safety

Tips to share:

When carving jack-o-lanterns, use a sharp, sturdy knife that’s not too big for the job.
Have a first aid kit handy when carving pumpkins.
Make sure that your costume is made up of flame-retardant materials.