We all worry about our kids being groomed online. How can we protect them in the endless world of the internet? How can we stop them being exploited, groomed, or worse, agreeing to meet the criminal in real life? We've all heard the true crime cases of children who did just that and the devastation that follows.

With so few and largely ineffective tools to help how can we be sure we're keeping our kids safe. Well, we can't but we can empower and educate our kids. Give them the tools they need to understand the dangers from the get go, trust their instincts and use tools available to them to block unsolicited messages, and to always tell a trusted adult if a stranger approaches your child online. That is what Robert the Lonely is about in story form.

The story is for your child to read. The Questionnaire at the back is for you to do together, so you can gauge your child's understanding of the story, and open up a safe and neutral discussion with your child about stranger .

Robert the Lonely is an essential, age appropriate, tool for helping your children spot the signs of online grooming through the medium of a traditional illustrated cautionary tale with a modern twist. This book is designed for younger children, who may have, or get access to the internet and who may have difficulty understanding that some people are not who they say they are. By spotting the signs and red flags early, children will have this message ingrained in them for all future internet activities and will at the very least know to reach out to an adult if in doubt.

I wrote this book for my children as they had difficulty understanding that people online were not always who they said they were and so I wanted to show them how and why people might deceive children in an age appropriate story.

-This book essentially will teach your child that not everyone on the internet is safe, even when they seem really really nice, even popular.
-The book is designed for parents too. There is a comprehension questionnaire at the back which you can do together with your child to help open a dialogue around this subject and help you gauge your child's understanding of the dangers and parent them accordingly.
-This book will help you navigate discussions with your child about their understanding of the story, and more broadly spotting the signs of groomers and predators lurking on internet and how to deal with these people.
-Aimed at readers age 6 and up, this book is packed with fun and spooky illustrations and characters just like them, to keep your child interested and engaged with the story to the end.

In short this book will:

• Help children understand the abstract (to them) concept of grooming behaviours, such as flattery, friendship, isolation from parents.
• Shows children what to do (Block and tell someone)
• the cautionary tale show kids a worst case scenario when they trust the groomer over the parent (in a spooky age appropriate and metaphorical way)
• Help reading and comprehensions skills more generally,
• Facilitate discussions between parents and their children or teachers and their class, about internet safety,
• Help parents assess their child's understanding and comprehension of the dangers.

Robert finds himself living all alone in a large, dusty and dark mansion. One day he finds that the computer has been left on, so he starts connecting online with children who aren't afraid to connect with strangers like him. Eventually, Robert builds up enough confidence to ask three of the children round to his mansion for a playdate. Who knows what will happen next.