We live in a risky world. But there’s safety and solace in the people we trust. This is true for children and young people too.
Image courtesy of ©Matlecapps
In this latest post in our “Apps” series, we look at a way of helping children to identify their safe people – those they could turn to if needed…
Who’re you gonna call?…
Like us, children sometimes need to talk. But Mum or Dad may not be the easiest to talk to. Or they may not be around.
This app helps you to work with a child or young person to identify adults they can trust. Who they could call in a crisis or if they just wanted to talk.
iAssistSafety, from Matlecapps, is a simple and interactive way to work with a child or young person, using a mobile phone or tablet.
Click here to get Jonny’s FREE e-book: Connecting With Troubled Young People…
The hand…
The app uses a picture of a hand to represent five people a child could turn to. Here’s what the website says:
[callout]”IAssistSafety helps children learn protective behaviours. All children deserve to be safe. Using a hand IAssistSafety allows a child to identify 5 adults who they could ask for help if feeling unsafe. The hand assists children to remember their safe people. The adults should be people the child sees regularly, people they can trust and people who will listen to the child. These 5 adults will help the child to be safe if they are scared, worried, sad or just need help. Use the name, phone number and image or photos of the adult and add it to the child’s hand. Your child’s hand can be emailed, saved in your gallery, used as a screen saver or printed. This App helps to give your child a voice in keeping themselves safe.”[/callout]
Summary:
This app is slightly different from the others we’ve reviewed, as it’s more of a process thing, than a utility in itself. Here’re my thoughts in summary:
Image courtesy of ©Matlecapps
- The user interface is clear, simple and easy to use – the £1.20 cost is minimal and worth it for a useful resource that can be used over and over again
- I tried a phone and a tablet and found the tablet much easier – this would certainly be true when using it together with a child or young person
- The process is a useful one to go through – it gives a good opportunity to discuss safe people and identify those who could be called on to help
- Some teenagers may find the appearance and premise of this app a little “young” – but I’ve often found that my concerns aren’t realised when the time comes…
- iAssistSafety would work well with young people with learning disabilities – as well as with others, as above
All in all this is a good app. It’s different in that it facilitates a process of discussion that could be really helpful. It’s interactive approach will helps kids to engage with discussions that might otherwise be more tricky.
The child or young person is left with a simple diagram of people they could turn to.
And we all know how essential this can be…
Question…
- How have you used technology to help troubled kids? Do you know of any other apps we could review here?
Please let me know – join the conversation by leaving a comment below or by clicking here.
Related previous posts…
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© Jonny Matthew 2014
Acknowledgement: Some material and images in this post is taken directly from the Matlec website – with thanks!
