Childhoods are being damaged on a massive scale by easy access to age-inappropriate content and contact online.  Around half of our Aussie kids will see age-restricted content, on a device and service we provide, before they even finish primary school.  Join us in urgently calling on the Australian Government to: make sure children aged 0-12 are looked after and protected from harm, every time they go online, and their parents, carers, schools and communities are empowered to do this; and to make laws that require tech companies to make this protection easy, automatic and free. Because every child deserves a healthy, happy childhood. 

Opinions vary on what is appropriate and when for teens online, but for 0-12s we can all agree.

Every signature counts! We all care about our children – by signing and sharing this petition you help us provide evidence to the Government of how important this issue is and encourage urgent action to protect the 0-12 year old age group who need it the most. If you add a comment, please keep it suitable for the young children who are helping with this, thank you!

Champion Childhood is a social movement led by Australian parents and kids calling for help and protection for children 0-12 online. Our content is 100% kid-friendly so we can spread the word far and wide!

Please sign and share the petition today. Read on for more details...

This is bigger than social media.  From Google searches to gaming and online streaming services, we ask the Prime Minister to widen the scope beyond social media and teens and address all online risks, specifically for 0-12s and consider the help needed by parents, carers and communities to minimise these risks. 

The ‘anything, anywhere, anytime’ that the online world provides is not OK for young children.  Children in this age group are particularly vulnerable to online harms as they are naturally curious and lack the maturity to fully understand the consequences of their actions. The rapid changes in technology have outpaced our response to the risks posed to young children online.  Without reasonable duty of care requirements, mandated tech solutions or reasonable public guidelines, the internet has become a harmful place for many young Australians.

Online alone is not OK for 0-12s.  This age group needs clear limits, direct supervision, parental controls and guidance to reduce the risk of harm caused by age-inappropriate content and contact online.   

Whilst it seems overwhelming, we have done it before with child protection laws and guidelines for swimming pool fences and child car seats, and we can do it again!

What is the issue?

Aussie kids aged 0-12 are being left to their own devices - literally. It’s not OK when the legislation and protections for children in that age group are basically non-existent. 

We can all agree that the development of children until 12 is incredibly important, with formative experiences during this time creating many of their experiences and attitudes moving into teens and beyond into adulthood. We all believe that every child deserves the best chance of a healthy, happy childhood.  

One of the biggest issues in the online space for young children is a simple search. A quick Google of words or ideas heard around them can quickly lead to exposure to age-inappropriate material. Online, it’s common for children to see and hear things unsuitable for their age or development. They are being harmed on a massive scale, but the good news is, it’s preventable!  One day our children will be using devices without us, until that time they need our help.  

The facts 

• 2/3 of 0-12 year olds have their own devices and half have a smartphone by age 10-12 for reasons ranging from safety to peer pressure.

• Research shows around 50% of all 0-12 year olds have seen age-restricted content, on devices and services we provide for them. 

• 70% go online in any room in the house by age 11 with little or no supervision. 

These stark numbers paint a clear picture of harm to our kids’ healthy development and well-being. It’s not OK to know there is such an obvious problem in our community and not take action.  The situation is clearly one of unacceptable risk to our youngest Australians and we simply cannot let it stay this way. 

Why does it matter?

‘We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind.’  (Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General) 

Childhood is a special time to be preserved and respected. Australians have always ensured that very young children are protected by law from seeing and engaging with age-restricted content. Rapidly evolving online spaces present challenges to these social guidelines and rules so we need to be proactive and move more quickly to create new legislation and social norms for families to follow.

Age-inappropriate content can make kids feel scared, unhappy or confused, and can harm their healthy development and well-being. Some content can make high risk behaviours look normal or encourage toxic or antisocial behaviour. 

‘It harms kids’ brains because it gives them bad examples.’ 

(Jay, 11 years old)

‘I don’t like when scary things come up, if it happens I have scary dreams.’ 

(Kiya, 7 years old)

What are we asking the Australian Government for?

We need our Government to ensure 0-12 year old children are looked after and protected online and their parents, carers and communities are empowered to do this.

This includes appropriate changes and guidelines to legislation and policy to be developed and enacted alongside social media reforms but specific to 0-12s.  To establish a working group to develop strategies to ensure these changes are implemented and adequate duty of care is provided wherever and whenever 0-12s access the internet - including home, school and the wider community. For actions to be aligned with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and existing Australian laws that we made to look after our children.

For Parents and Caregivers of 0-12s to be provided with the tools and resources they need to protect young children online at home.

For Primary Schools to provide safe and secure internet and devices for student use that remain at school.

For Communities to ensure public Wi-Fi and other internet access in the community is inaccessible or made safe for children 0-12, with legal duty of care requirements for providers of online devices and services.

For Tech Companies to provide tools for child protection that are easy, automatic and free.  For providers of device operating systems and web browsers to be required by law to share all their safety and security features with parents as well as with safety tech developers for parents and schools.  So parents and carers of 0-12s and schools can easily control the devices and services their children are using and these controls cannot be easily by-passed.

What are people saying?

‘Children’s unrestricted access to explicit content is the child protection issue of our time. Society is only just beginning to realise the scale and nature of harm being done to our children.’   

‘Valuing children doesn’t stop when a child opens their iPad. It is a constant commitment by all adults to ensure our children experience childhood in the safest and happiest of terms.’ 

 (WA child advocacy & safety experts)

‘It is almost impossible trying to give the kids the good side of the internet and keep them away from things they shouldn’t see – it should be so much easier.’   (Ashley, parent of 9 and 12 year old)

‘Remember, not just adults use it.’  (Alex, 8 years old)

About Champion Childhood

Champion Childhood is a social change movement started by parent and primary school teacher, Will Norris, with strategic input and advisory from some of WA's leading child advocacy, health & safety experts and creative agencies.  He is also leading another initiative, It's Not OK, advocating for a national awareness campaign to empower parents of 0-12s with the 3 top proven preventative actions to take at home – the ‘slip, slop, slap’ for online safety.

 

 

Please sign and share the petition today

We are calling on parents, families, community leaders and prominent Australians – everyone, to sign this petition which we will be taken to parliament.

Please remember, if you want to add a comment, keep it 100% kid-friendly… it’s just another way you can help champion childhood (:  

It is currently incredibly hard for parents, businesses, community organisations and carers of 0-12s to look after young children online. It shouldn’t be like this and we need help.  Let’s act now as a nation for the age group that needs it the most and give our children the healthy, happy childhoods they deserve.

It’s time for us all to Champion Childhood and look after 0-12s online

Please note – The petition organisers are not asking you to donate money to this campaign.  Change.org automatically gives you an option to ‘chip in’ to help promote petitions hosted on their site – this money goes to change.org