The LEGO Group has released two free resources aimed at helping families tackle cyberbullying.
The first is a new ‘Build & Talk’ activity guide, which provides fun LEGO-based activities designed to get families to have conversations about cyberbullying.
Aimed at children aged six to 10 years old, the guide encourages parents and caregivers to help their child to build a ‘Meanie’ monster out of LEGO bricks. It also offers questions for parents to ask their child as they build, discussing issues including how to spot cyberbullying online and what to do when they encounter it.
The activity guide has been created in line with guidance issued by children’s charity UNICEF about keeping children safe online. This topic has become much more prominent in recent months, as children around the world spend increasing amounts of time online whilst staying home during the COVID-19 outbreak. The ‘Build & Talk’ guide can be downloaded now from LEGO.com.
The second initiative involves a partnership with Peppy Pals, an education tech company backed by LEGO Ventures. The #BoostUp campaign provides users with a series of polls, quizzes and challenges that are designed to encourage supportive online behaviour.
“We want to create a safe space where children can voice their perspective on what being kind online means to them,” says Paulina Olsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Peppy Pals. “Navigating the world of online friendships and communities can feel exciting and fun, but it can also feel scary and lonely for children.
“Through different videos, polls, quizzes and building challenges we give kids a way to express their feelings, and in doing so help each other deal with both the positive and negative aspects of spending time online.” The LEGO Life app was first launched in 2017 and has grown enormously, to the point that it is now used worldwide by approximately 9 million children across 78 countries.
The LEGO Group is also hosting a live ‘Build & Talk’ session around cyberbulling on World Children’s Day, November 20. A child protection expert from UNICEF will join the LEGO Group’s Vice President of Design Matthew Ashton and Senior Design Manager Amy Corbett for the livestream, which kicks off at 5pm GMT on the LEGO YouTube channel.
These new ventures follow a similar campaign over the summer that aimed to promote online safety and digital citizenship.