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While the world continues to worry about and combat the novel coronavirus , Princess Madeleine has highlighted another issue that parents should be aware of during this time. With many children at home because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Swedish royal, who is an honorary board member of the World Childhood Foundation, shared a message on her personal social account reminding parents to protect their kids from the dangers of the Internet, as well as offline. “At this moment in time my thoughts are with the children around the world and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Swedish police there is now a significant increase in sexual abuse of children online,” she wrote.
© Anna-Lena Ahlström, Royal Court, Sweden“Just as handwashing helps to prevent spreading the Coronavirus, caring adults are essential to protect children from abuse and exploitation, both online and offline,” the mom of three continued. “As an adult, you have a very important role in these times of uncertainty, for your own children and for those of others. Links to relevant resources for parents/adults and children can be found at www.childhood-usa.org/resources.”
Madeleine’s mother, Queen Silvia, founded the World Childhood Foundation in 1999. The foundation’s mission is to defend the rights of children and to promote better living conditions for vulnerable and exploited children at risk all over the world.
In a previous post on March 19, the Swedish Princess penned a message for the children of Min Stora Dag (My Big Day), acknowledging that the coronavirus is “affecting us all right now.” She wrote, “I want to send a special greeting to all the children in My Big Day's target group. I know that many of you right now have the extra tough time when you have to stay home because of increased infection risk and susceptibility to infection. @minstoradagmeets the wishes of children with serious illnesses and diagnoses and I am proud protector of the organization.”
Last week, in honor of World Water Day, Madeleine’s niece, Princess Estelle, and nephew, Prince Oscar, showed how to properly wash their hands “in times of infection.” The Swedish Royal Court has previously said that because of the coronavirus there will be “a great deal of restrictiveness” when it comes to the royal family's travels and that all planned programs will be gradually re-evaluated based on risks and conditions. King Carl XVI Gustaf’s family is “keen” to “limit the spread of COVID-19.”
