Jack Changes the Game by Tess Rowley and illustrated by Shannon Horsfall. The Australian Federal Police support children and families to learn about online safety through storytelling. Image: AFP
Young children are using the internet in their daily lives to go online and play games, watch videos and talk to friends and family. Using the internet can be entertaining, informative and social for children, but it is important that adults help children learn how to be safe online.
Research released by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) in 2020 showed that only 52 per cent of Australian parents and carers talk to their children about online safety as they find the topic difficult to discuss and that the prevention measures tended to be applied in response to a negative event.
We know through reports received by the ACCCE that young children playing online can be contacted by people they do not know in-person. So, what tools are needed to navigate online safety for children? And how can we as adults feel empowered to have conversations with young children about online safety and encourage help-seeking behaviours together?
These questions are worth considering from the time children start using connected devices. Online safety experts suggest having conversations to help ensure children know who they can go to for help, having a range of resources and people they can ask for assistance, and reassuring children that nothing is ever so bad they can’t tell someone.
Storytelling to build understandings
Stories are a powerful way for young children to engage and learn through the shared experience of characters. To open the conversation between adults and children about online safety and help seeking behaviours, the AFP have developed a children’s picture book called Jack Changes the Game.
With over 20,000 downloads of the free digital book, Jack Changes the Game recently won in the Education category at the 2023 Queensland Child Protection Awards.
Designed for children aged between 5 and 8 years, the book is based on a real report to the ACCCE and gives age-appropriate advice for young children on how to recognise online grooming and how to ask for help.
The story goes like this …
Jack meets a new online friend called ‘Footy Boy’ through his favourite online game. But soon, ‘Footy Boy’ starts asking for things that make Jack feel uneasy, and he begins to wonder if his new friend is the person he claims to be. Jack is worried if he asks for help, he will lose his screen time.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing? Analogies from traditional children’s stories can be applied to modern scenarios in our digitally connected society. Image: AFP.
With the support of his sister and her friend, Jack finds the courage to tell his parents, and together they make a report. After establishing new online safety steps together with his family, Jack feels happier and safer.
This may sound like a lot to cover within the pages of a picture book, particularly for parents or grandparents who didn’t grow up connecting and playing in online environments. But, throughout history, children’s stories have always shared useful life lessons, big and small. Designed as a co-reading experience and conversation starter, Jack Changes the Game is an educative tale for children growing up in a connected world.
Jack and his friends connect and play online. Image: AFP.
Want to know more?
Jack Changes the Game was written by children’s author Tess Rowley and illustrated by Shannon Horsfall.
Four of Australia’s leading experts in education and child protection provided input and advice to Jack Change the Game including sexual abuse, author and advocate Kelly Humphries, Professor Kerryann Walsh from the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology, Dr Andrea Baldwin, Service Development Leader at the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health and Professor Susan Edwards, Director Early Childhood Futures at the Australian Catholic University.
To extend on learning opportunities emerging from the picture book, there’s a teacher’s toolkit and home learning activity for children, families and educators to learn more about online safety with Jack and his family. Go to: Resources | ThinkUKnow
Curriculum links
Early Years Learning Framework
Learning Outcome 3 Children have a strong sense of wellbeing: Children become strong in their social, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Learning Outcome 5 Children are effective communicators: Children use digital technologies and media to access information, investigate their ideas and represent their thinking.
Australian Curriculum
Digital Technologies Foundation to 2 Digital Technologies Process and Production Skills: Explore how people safely use common information systems to meet information, communication and recreation need.