Getting Kids Engaged in and Informed About Building Safety

The future of building safety lies with the next generation, and that means there’s no better time than now to get kids involved in the industry. But before they can understand why they should pursue a career in this industry, they must first become engaged with building safety and learn why it is an essential part of our world.

Pete Roque, Director of Code Enforcement at 4LEAF, and Rachel Patterson, Senior Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Westminster, Colorado and Secretary of the International Code Council Colorado Chapter, are tackling this challenge from multiple angles. First and foremost, both Roque and Patterson speak to students whenever they can to inform and educate kids about building safety.

“I don’t think kids recognize they live in a structure,” said Roque. “You ask them, ‘Do you know how buildings are built?’ Most of them don’t know. I explain that if it’s built the wrong way, it can fall apart while they’re sleeping. [That gets their attention], they’re always like, ‘What!?’”

Roque uses LEGO blocks to demonstrate the importance of following instructions. He relates that back to building codes, emphasizing that they have been crafted over many years to ensure the safety, integrity and reliability of every structure. Roque also passes out Junior Building Inspector stickers and hard hats provided by the Code Council during Building Safety Month.

He even teamed up with his son, Luke, to write a children’s book: Code Enforcement Officer Lucas Cleans Up Our Street. The book introduces young readers to code enforcement while providing insights into how blight and substandard structures are dealt with on a daily basis. Roque happily passes out his book at trainings and at seminars and asks that the recipients pay it forward by reading to a kid. Listen to the Code Council’s Kids and Building Safety podcast here. 

“You know when you’re a little kid and the police officer or fireman comes to your school? We don’t have that for building safety,” said Roque. “With this book, we can teach kids about building safety and code enforcement at a young age.”

To Engage Kids, Read or Tell a Relatable Story

Patterson uses Roque’s book as part of her curriculum for educating kids when she speaks at a school. She also brings squishy toys that are themed to building safety, creating a fun prop for students as she tells them about her profession. Her goal is the same every time: to engage kids with relevant and relatable stories.

“Sitting at a booth, we’ve had some kids come up and really want to know about our hard hats,” said Patterson. “This is an opportunity to give them a story. Go into detail about why they use the hard hats.”

For example, code enforcement officers may enter buildings that are not structurally sound, so their hard hats help protect them if any objects or debris fall from above.

“There’s a long history of individuals out there in the building safety world keeping your home and my home safe,” Patterson continued. “By doing this, and by having those visuals like Pete’s book, you can communicate with the kiddos in a way that relates back to code enforcement. [Without your story], they never would’ve known any of that.”

Patterson wants to tell even more building safety stories with her own animated series, Fiona the Fox. She teamed up with Roque to develop the concept and has produced and shared one episode thus far. 

“I know we’re not going to get a bunch of kiddos who say they want to be code enforcement officers or building officials,” said Patterson. “But we can get them interested in doing what they do and potentially a few might want to become building officials.’”

Patterson’s goal is to use the show as a positive force for change, encouraging kids to think and learn about building safety. She also wants kids to understand what it means to be a good neighbor. It could be as simple as shoveling the sidewalk after it snows to create a safe passageway for an elderly neighbor to walk her dog.

Help Students Launch Their Career with Available Resources

The Code Council has developed numerous ways to educate kids about building safety, starting with the Technical Training Program (TTP) — a flexible educational program based on the Code Council’s International Residential Code® (IRC). This structure enables a technical school/instructor to integrate one or more disciplines of the program into its current construction trade curricula to better prepare students for careers in the construction and building field.

The Code Council also participates in high school outreach programs, such as the “I Built This” series, and created Safety 2.0 for newcomers in building safety. Safety 2.0 provides opportunities for training, leadership, mentorship, resources and career path information. Read about the Code Council’s involvement at the Iowa Skilled Trades “Build My Future” Event here.

For younger students, the Code Council created an interactive Kids Corner as a part of their Building Safety Month annual campaign. The Building Safety Month Kids Corner offers a number of resources, including an activity book with multiple exercises that teach kids about building safety. Those who complete the exercises can earn a certificate as a Junior Code Official. And, new for 2024, kids are able to sign their own Building Safety Month proclamation.

In addition to these building safety-focused programs and initiatives, the ACE Mentor Program of America gives high school students the chance to connect with experts from the design and construction industry. The latter is particularly important because construction has long served as a foundation for building safety professionals. 

“The students actually get every aspect of the construction industry,” said Diana T. Eidenshink, President of the ACE Mentor Program of America. “When we talk safety, a lot of it is OSHA and making sure we’re building safe buildings. But part of their exposure is learning about fire protection, about the sprinkler [systems] and making sure there are emergency exit protections.”

ACE (which is short for Architecture, Construction and Engineering) has teamed up with a big fire protection company that provides participating students with summer internship opportunities to learn more about fire safety.

“They’ve been pretty successful in getting students involved,” said Eidenshink.

Despite their assumptions, the students typically come into the program with the intent of starting a career in one of the ACE disciplines.  

Note That Building Safety Engages Kids, Teens and Adults in Different Ways

While Fiona the Fox is geared at young kids, Roque has found that the most effective message is one that shifts over time as students age into teens and eventually adults.

“For kids, it’s a simple message of, ‘Keep your neighborhoods clean and we make sure your buildings are safe,’” Roque explained. “That’s why we don’t build illegal garage conversions or sleep where we’re not supposed to sleep. When it comes to teenagers, they’re more interested in the stuff they see on TV, the hot and heavy law enforcement-type stuff. They’re interested in how we deal with cannabis conversions and things like that in junior high. They’re not interested in the feel-good stuff.”

College kids view building safety in a different light and instead focus on their career prospects.

“They’re more interested in earning more money and being more technical,” Roque added. “The more certifications you get, the more raises you can potentially get and the more you can earn.”

To learn more about careers in building safety, check out week 3 of the Code Council’s Building Safety Month campaign. To learn how to get kids involved in building safety, visit week 4.