Social media influencers take on challenge to be Creators #ForEveryChild to protect children from online abuse and exploitation

From Left to Right: Creators #ForEveryChild Anina Rubio, AJ Bacar, Cat Triviño and Buji Babiera together with UNICEF Philippines Advocacy and Communications Chief Lely Djuhari (center)

As the country wraps up this year’s Safer Internet Month, UNICEF Philippines awarded the first-ever annual badge of recognition to digital influencers who accepted the challenge to be Creators #ForEveryChild. They have lent their unique creative platforms and reach to fight for the rights of every child in the country, especially the most vulnerable to online abuse and exploitation.

Ensuring learning for young children amid the pandemic

Early childhood is a crucial stage in a child’s life. As a child grows from infancy up to eight years old, important connections are happening in the brain. Brain development progresses at a very rapid pace in the first few years of life, and at three years of age, a child’s brain is twice as active as an adult brain. This is a very special time that will never happen again. 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, young children are staying at home without access to daycare. This can have longer lasting consequences among very young children as the unfolding overwhelming circumstances affect their brain. This can lead to toxic stress among children, which produces high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that disrupts the process of brain development by limiting the proliferation of brain cells, damaging health, learning and behavior. But even as schools and day care centers remain closed, parents and caregivers can continue young children’s learning at home.