Impact of the 4-H After School Curriculum on Latch-key Children

Abstract

Every day thousands of American children are left at home without adult supervision. Many working American parents cannot afford supervised day care. Their children, known as “latch-key children,” often make poor use of their time after school. An early-morning variatiokn of the “4-H After School Curriculum” was used to teach these children how to more effectively use their unsupervised time. Fifteen Cleburne Independent School District students participated in this project while attending Cleburne Community Education’s Super Summer School. Ten 4-H members presented the curriculum over a 2-week period. A pre-event survey focusing on after-school supervision was given to the children in June 1992. In December 1992, a personal interview of a portion of the participants showed that none of the participants questioned had changed the way they used unsupervised time after school. However, 83% had changed their overall (supervised and unsupervised) snacking habits.