Kids in the Know

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (Canadian Centre), with the support of Shaw, recently launched the newly redesigned Zoe and Molly Online website, where kids can have fun while exploring what it means to be safe while playing games online. Geared towards Grades 3 and 4 students, the updated site invites kids to first read through the Zoe & Molly Online comics, then play the NEW underwater game (where they’ll help Molly navigate the online world safely to get back to the surface) and then test their knowledge about what they’ve learned with the Guess What!?! quiz.

We haven’t forgotten about teachers! The Teachers section of the new site features Zoe & Molly teacher kits, comic books and SMART Board® lessons, as well as an Online Safety PowerPoint® presentation.

Check it out at zoeandmolly.ca today!

Let us know what you think of the new site! Your feedback is very important in helping to develop a website that is valuable to you and your students. Send us your feedback here.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, with the support of TELUS, recently launched ProtectKidsOnline.ca. The new online safety site features information about the ever-changing online interests of young people, the potential risks they face and proactive strategies for helping to keep them safe while online.

Check out the new site at protectkidsonline.ca.

Help us let parents know about this important new site by visiting protectkidsonline.ca/spreadtheword and sharing on social media.

On September 26th the Canadian Centre marked the 15^th anniversary of Cybertip.ca – Canada’s tipline for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children.

In addition to receiving, processing and forwarding tips from the public, Cybertip.ca is committed to providing the public with information and resources to help keep themselves and their families safe while online. Over the past 15 years, more than 14.5 million pieces of child protection educational materials have been distributed across Canada.

Educators play an important role in preventing and disrupting child sexual abuse. By teaching the Kids in the Know program, teachers can provide students with skills and knowledge to increase their personal safety – both online and offline. And by completing online training about child sexual abuse, teachers can better prepare themselves to recognize and report concerning behaviour.

After seeing a significant spike in cases of sextortion of teenage boys over the past couple of years, the Canadian Centre developed an edgy, fun campaign to get teens in Grade 7 and up talking about this growing issue and help prevent teens from being sextorted. We dare you not to laugh. And check out this video targeted towards girls in Grade 6 and up from our friends at Thorn.

Visit dontgetsextorted.ca for more information about sextortion, important resources for students and a lesson plan and PowerPoint® presentation that teachers can use to help educate both boys and girls about sextortion and ways to keep safe.

“Loved how scripted the program lessons were. The vocabulary/language was very helpful. I wasn’t sure how to speak to this age group about this subject and the program laid it all out and made it easy.” – Kindergarten teacher

Every year our Education team goes out into classrooms to talk to students about personal safety. Here’s what we learned from students in spring 2017:

• Nearly half of the Grade 4 students we spoke with indicated that they had been asked weird questions, seen uncomfortable content or felt somewhat unsafe while playing an online game. For the Grade 6 students we spoke with, approximately 70% indicated that at one time or another they had felt weird, uncomfortable, strange or scared while online.
• While most of the Grades 5, 6 and 7 students we spoke with had a good grasp of the concept of personal boundaries, students indicated that personal boundaries were often broken online.

The Third Edition of the Grades 7 and 8 Kids in the Know Personal Safety Programs are hot off the press! In the new edition you will find the same important concepts from the second edition with updated activities and examples. Additionally, lessons from the previously available cyberbullying module Addressing Online Risks Facing Youth in Grades 7 and 8 have been incorporated to provide teachers with one resource that covers it all.

Order your Third Edition copy of the Grade 7 or Grade 8 Kids in the Know Personal Safety Program here, or contact us at website@protectchildren.ca or 1-800-532-9135.