In the past financial year, police received 36,000 reports of online child sexual exploitation – but many parents of preschool and primary age children do not believe they need to worry about their children online until they are in high school.

“Unfortunately, every day, my teams face the reality that this is not the case,” AFP Commander Hilda Sirec, manager of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, said.

A new AFP children’s book, Jack Changes the Game, will help parents, carers, and educators talk to five- to eight-year-old children about online safety.

Jack meets a new online friend through his favourite game; before too long, the friend starts asking Jack things that make him uneasy, and he starts to wonder if his friend is the person he claims to be.

The book is written by Tess Rowley, and illustrated by Shannon Horsfall, and based on a report to the ACCCE.

It covers age-appropriate advice for families on how to recognise online child sexual exploitation, including online grooming, and how to take action. It aims to encourage critical thinking and get young people to question online interactions, Commander Sirec said.

A teacher’s toolkit, at-home learning activities, and readings of the book (including Auslan interpretation) accompany the book. These are available at https://thinkuknow.org.au/.

The book is available to all Australian primary schools. 8,500 hard copies were distributed nationally in December, to be ready at school for the new year, while the book is also available as a free ebook through the ThinkUKnow website.

“It is my hope,” Commander Sirec said, “that this book starts conversations in schools and in households across Australia about recognising the signs of online grooming, how to get help, and making a report to police – and from these conversations, we can start to destigmatise this crime type and work together as a community to help keep our children safe.”