This is a petition for all nurseries, schools and libraries to have a children’s cyber section with books that explain and explore online safety. 

Why?

We teach young children to avoid getting hurt and burnt, to use the green cross code, to wear arm bands in water and to treat scissors and knives with care as early as we can.

But how can we teach online safety as instinctively as we teach about other risks when these lessons weren’t modelled to us as children? 

Through storytelling. 

From a very early age children are aware of, and explore online devices by using apps, taking pictures, making calls, playing games and watching programs. This is the age we should start educating them. By using storytelling - especially in groups with their peers, or with a parent at bedtime - children can engage, relate and absorb the modern, vital life skills needed in todays world. 

If all nurseries, schools and libraries have a dedicated cyber section, this will enable a dialogue between us and our children - that continues throughout their whole childhood - to keep them happier, safer and cyber aware.