Everyone says talk to your kids. Now we’re testing it.
Pediatricians, psychologists and policymakers all point to the same answer:
children are safest when they have strong relationships with the adults
around them, and when those adults talk with them about their digital lives.¹ ²
Few studies have tested whether that approach builds trust and better choices.
We’re setting out to.
The gap
our five steps
What we’re testing
Step
What we measure
Play
Do families enjoy it and want to do it again?
Talk
Can parents and children talk openly about digital life?
Connect
Do children feel heard? Do parents understand their child’s digital world?
Trust
If something went wrong online, would the child turn to a parent for help?
Empower
Do children feel confident making better choices?
The Family Conversation Study: at home
Over several weeks, families use simple, playful tools and conversation prompts at home, with practical guidance on how to lead the conversations. Parents and children each answer their own surveys at the start, at week three and at the end. Interviews and focus groups show what changed and why. Hearing from both generations is the point: we want to know whether children feel the change as much as their parents do.
The Youth Ambassador Study: at school
Older pupils are trained to lead playful conversations with younger pupils, using games and activities, and to carry them home to their families. This study measures the effect on children’s wellbeing, sense of belonging and youth leadership, on shared values between school and home, and on children’s ability to make empowered decisions online.
Together, the two studies ask one question: do shared values and guidance, at home and at school, help children make safer, kinder choices online?
our team
Who is behind it?
The research is led by Stine Liv Johansen, Associate Professor at Aarhus University, who researches children’s digital lives and Jessica Joelle Alexander, bestselling author of The Danish Way of Parenting, who co-designed the programme. The Italian study is led by Michele Capurso, educational psychologist at the University of Perugia.
our future
Where we’re going
The first studies are the beginning. Our plan is to build the largest body of evidence on how families and schools can raise children with healthy digital lives.
Now: the first studies (autumn 2026).
Families and schools in Denmark and Italy, with university partners.
Next: more countries.
New sites in the UK, the US and Estonia, one of the world’s most digitally advanced countries and first in Europe in maths and science in the OECD’s latest PISA results,³ with larger groups of families.
Then: the long view.
Following families over time to measure lasting trust, safety and wellbeing, and comparing guided conversations with playful tools to learn what works best.
Always: open results.
We publish what we learn so every family, school and policymaker can use it.
your role
Why be part of it
Be first.
Help show, with real data, that connection keeps children safer and more confident online.
Make it last.
Your support builds tools and knowledge that reach millions of families, not just one campaign.
Stand for something real.
Put your name behind a movement that brings children and adults together, backed by independent research.
Become a research partner
Good research takes people and time. Partners fund the researchers, the families and schools taking part, the move into new countries, and free publication of every result.
You can support the whole programme, bring the research to a new country, or fund the long-term study. Every partnership is shaped together.
¹ American Academy of Pediatrics. Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement. Pediatrics. 2026;157(2).
² U.S. Surgeon General. Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. 2023.
³ OECD. PISA 2025 Results (Volume I), Country Note: Estonia. 2026.