August 26, 2019

New activity sheets help start the privacy conversation with kids

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, in collaboration with its provincial and territorial counterparts, has produced a new series of activity sheets to help young Canadians understand various privacy issues by presenting them in a visually appealing, easy-to-understand format.

It is important that youth become savvy digital citizens who are able to enjoy the benefits of being online. Young people need to be equipped with the knowledge necessary to navigate the online world and participate in the digital domain while protecting their privacy.

Because children go online earlier than ever before, parents and guardians should start talking to them about the digital world and online privacy much sooner than they used to.

Privacy Snakes and Ladders is a twist on the classic children’s game that helps players learn how to make smart privacy choices by climbing up a ladder when they make a good decision or sliding down a snake because they have shared a password with a friend, for example.

Connect the Dots has kids complete the picture of a family with a checklist of rules they can use at home to practice good online privacy.

Learning About Passwords / Colour the Tablet challenges kids to create their own strong, eight-character password by filling in the blanks. It also asks them to draw a lock on a tablet, representing how password protects an electronic device.

Word Search introduces children to privacy vocabulary by having them comb through a puzzle to find words such as “post,” “click” and “footprint.”

To download the activity sheets or for more activities and information, visit youthprivacy.ca. Paper copies can be obtained by sending an email to publications@priv.gc.ca.