DCE for Parents and Carers
The role of parents in today’s highly digitized society is more challenging than ever.
Whereas once parents could keep an eye on what their children were doing and who they met, nowadays in just a couple of clicks children can make contact with people from all over the world and encounter content that is scary, biased, harmful or downright illegal. Helping your children to become digital citizens is about enabling them to benefit from the many opportunities open to them through the internet, whilst fostering the values and attitudes that will guide their behaviour wherever they are.
Empathy, cooperation, and understanding themselves and their rights and responsibilities, are developed from earliest childhood onwards, and necessary to every individual throughout life.
Digital citizenship education offers ideas and tools for parents and carers to help their children become caring, ethical individuals who enjoy a sense of well-being and are able to actively participate in online and offline communities.
The Digi-Nauts is a video series developed by the Council of Europe to encourage young children, as well as their parents and educators, to think about what it means to be a digital citizen. Each video is accompanied by activities and exercises brought together in an Activity Book to recall scenes from the videos, reinforce key messages introduced, and generally support the development of digital citizenship competences.
Each video includes some key messages linked to DCE Domains. For example, the first video relates to the Domain "Access and Inclusion", and its key message is "Being different is OK, and it makes the world more fun."
Leave your feedback to help shape the videos yet to come, and the key messages they will promote.
Episode 1 – Inclusion (
Episode 2 – Well-being (English - French)
Episode 3 – Being a consumer (English - French)
Subtitles are available via the English version of the videos in: Catalan, Dutch, English, French, Georgian, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian, Turkish and Ukrainian (select them by clicking "CC" in the video menu).
Most translations were provided by the DCE Promoters
Find below the Activity Book for children and the Teachers' Guide to help you use the videos and Activity Book in classroom!
The Activity Book is also available in:
Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian, Turkish and Ukrainian.
Download "DCE from a parent's perspective"
In 2020, the Council of Europe conducted a survey to better understand the views of parents on digital citizenship education and the concerns they have about their children’s use of digital technology.
More than 21 000 parents in 47 countries responded to the survey, which was followed up by interviews in 2020 and 2021.
The publication maps the needs and reflections of parents as they strive to ensure the well-being of their children and help them become competent digital citizens, who are empowered by digital technology rather than shaped by it.
NGOs, civil society organisations, and public institutions who have established powerful links with parents and carers around Europe have helped us in our work with parents and carers.
Leaflets
- Back-to-school: making a positive start to the new school year
- Act for eliminating exclusion and bullying online and offline!
- Helping children understand their rights and responsibilities in the real and virtual world
- A New Year has begun: it’s time to help children become active digital citizens
- Protecting privacy and personal data: empowering children to safeguard their own privacy and the privacy of others
- Holiday time: holiday activities to do with young digital citizens
Booklets
- Easy steps to help your child become a Digital Citizen
- Educating for a Video Game Culture - A Map for Teachers and Parents
Info sheets and games