Ellen Roome, Lisa Kenevan, and Hollie Dance each suffered the unimaginable loss of their teenage sons. Now, united by tragedy and determination, they are campaigning for urgent change to keep children safe online – and demanding that the government and social media platforms do far more to protect young people from harmful and inappropriate content.
While the fight for legislative change continues, Ellen has teamed up with 1decision, a multi award-winning provider of personal development resources for schools, to take immediate action to help protect children, especially before the long summer holidays when children may be spending more time online.
Together, they have created Click or Quit?, a powerful new, free resource designed to teach children about the real dangers of online risks and challenges – especially the rise of dangerous ‘challenges’ that encourage young people to restrict their breathing.
Hayley Sherwood, CEO of 1decision, said: “We can’t wait any longer for the government to act. Too many young lives have already been lost as a result of attempting the ‘blackout challenge’, and other harmful content or challenges. We hopeClick or Quit? will help prevent more families from facing what these parents have endured.”
Over recent years, there has been an alarming increase in these online trends, and parents like Ellen are calling for tighter controls to stop children ever seeing them. Until that happens, Click or Quit? aims to equip children with the knowledge and confidence to recognise these risks and make safer choices. In collaboration with Ellen, 1decision has developed a ready-to-use school assembly, recommended for children aged 9-12, or older pupils with additional needs. A dedicated parent and carer version is available to encourage open conversations at home, alongside further support and guidance.
Hayley explained: “For schools, this assembly covers a range of important topics, including the benefits and risks of communicating online, understanding age restrictions, what to consider before taking part in an online challenge, and how to create a positive online experience. It also includes a powerful video featuring Ellen’s story. Whilst this assembly has been specifically designed for schools, we have created a parent/carer version which can be used at home. We would recommend exploring the assembly and watching the videos first before going through these with your child.”
Ellen commented: “There are lots of things online that children either see that they shouldn’t see, or things that they might find frightening, or online challenges. The Click or Quit? assembly can help educate children about online safety. I want children to learn that some things they see online are harmful or dangerous, what to do about it, and how to ideally stop them seeing it in the long run but initially if they do come across something to talk to somebody and do something about it. We need to educate children more on what they are seeing online, making sure it is safe, and that they talk about if it is not.”
To strengthen this vital first-hand support for families, Hollie and Lisa will shortly be launching a new website providing additional resources for parents and carers. These resources are designed to help families understand the risks, talk openly with their children about staying safe online, and find help if they have concerns.
Hayley added: “We are genuinely humbled to be working with Ellen, Lisa and Hollie. This also supports the wider objectives of Lessons4Life, a UK-wide collaboration of organisations dedicated to improving children’s futures by advocating for stronger personal development. I would like to thank Ellen for contributing to our Lessons4Life podcast, and through our campaign petition and associated campaign activity we are now gaining real momentum and making significant steps. On 9th July we will be launching our whitepaper, ‘The cycle of missed opportunities (and what we need to do about it)’.”
