Each group can decide how to organize the shifts and manage the schedule rotation. In general, within a group the time put at the disposal by every parent should be as balanced as possible, with every parent offering about the same amount of time. However, every different or additional rule has to be discussed offline and approved by all group members .

In case you are afraid in managing a group of children, our experience with the parents who took part to previous Families Share activities taught us that the worry is understandable but not real, since in reality everything  is easier than how it seems. Listen to the stories of the parents who last summer took part to Families Share activities in our YouTube channel Families – Share EU (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUd_D8PkEic9pPEY3SysmXw)

The first step to enter the Families Share world is to create a new group of parents. You can involve your personal network and set up your own group, by selecting “create a group” and inviting your friends to join, or search for an existing group in the area (selecting the option ‘search group’) and ask to join it, as a single parent or with your group, by contacting the administrator.

Through the app Families Share every kind of childcare activity can be organized: co-playing week or days during school holidays, activities of accompanying/picking up children to/from school, extra school or after school activities, touristic visits, etc.Through the app parents schedule the activities identifying different timeslots. Later you can register yourself and/or your children for joining the activities.

The first thing to do when a child is missing is to alert his/her parents if they were not co-playing. Look in the immediate area. Older children have a tendency to have run to friends’ houses, so call around to any friends, family, or neighbors who are close to your child. If the child is not found, call the police, which is required to enter immediately the missing child’s name and information into the national system, to broaden the research. Be prepared to provide as much key information as you can, as for instance: – Child’s full name – Child’s weight – Child’s height – Child’s age and date of birth – Clothes the child was last seen wearing – Identifying features, like glasses or a birthmark – Names and contact information of the child’s friends or close acquaintances – Frequently visited hangout spots – Health issues the child has – Any other possibly relevant details about the time or place the child went missing Parents of the chlid and the co-playing parents need to keep their phone line open. (info readapted by safewise.com)

In case you cannot participate, first of all you have to immediately contact the group administrator(s) to find a solution. The preferred solution is to find a parent of the group who can substitute you. In case it is not feasible, it is possible to involve external childcare professional or cancel the turn and the activity. However, this last option should be adopted only in the case other solutions are not possible, in order not to cause difficulties to the other families. However, it is recommended to groups to decide in advance, once the group is formed, how to deal with such inconvenientes (for instance decide if the involvement of external professional can be an option or not).

For an optimal group management and for safety reasons, we recommend not to exceed the ratio parents-children 1:6. Have a look to the special needs of children participating to shared activities (i.e. allergies, intolerances, and other special needs) by exporting the activities’ info. In case of emergency, contact the first aid and inform the group administrator as well as the child’s parents through the contacts available in the members’ section of the app/platform. Keep emergency numbers on hand: Italy: Ambulance/first aid 118 Police 113 Fire department 115 Unique number of emergency 112 Community management: venezia@families-share.eu

The group administrator plays a central role within the Families Share platform. First of all, he/she creates the group and he/she is the contact person who can be contacted by users, external to the group, to ask information about it. The group administrator also adds new members to the group. Moreover, the administrator can edit the activities and the timeslots, he/she can export  the group’s information as well as the activity’s details, also once the activity has taken place.The administrator sets the group features (visible/invisible) and he/she has the control on the advanced planning activity.Finally, the administrator can decide to make administrator some other members. There isn’t a maximum number of administrators within a group, every member can be set as such. We suggest to have at least two people with the administrative role within a group.

If a child injures him/herself there are different possible actions to undertake. First of all you need to understand how serious the situation is. 1. Call an ambulance if the child: – stops breathing – is struggling for breath (for example, you may notice he/she is breathing fast, panting, becoming very wheezy, or see the muscles just under their ribcage sucking in when he/she breathes in) – is unconscious or seems unaware of what’s going on – has a cut that won’t stop bleeding or is gaping open – won’t wake up – has a fit for the first time, even if he/she seems to recover If this is the case we recommend you to call the ambulance first and only after to call the child’s parents. 2.Take the child to the first aid service if he/she: – has a fever and are still sluggish, despite having paracetamol or ibuprofen – has severe tummy (abdominal) pain – has a leg or arm injury and can’t use the limb – has swallowed a poison or tablets (www.nhs.uk) 3. Use the first aid kit in case of minor injuries as: – cuts – scrapes – grazes – burns and other minor injuries

If you have your phone with you, contact the other co-playing parent(s) (if inside) or the location’s responsible if the number is available. In case you do not have these numbers, contact the group administrator(s) or the community managers.