Bereaved families extend support to those who've lost loved ones to social media challenges

They're coming together to call for tighter regulations for what children can see on line to stop kids dying.

Author: Stan TomkinsonPublished 8th Mar 2024

Bereaved parents are coming together to call for tighter regulations for what children can see online.

Mums Hollie Dance and Lisa Keneven blame dangerous social media challenges for the deaths of their sons. They are extending their support to families who have lost loved ones in similar circumstances, while saying more has to be done to stop children dying.

This come after the death of 11-year-old Tommie-lee Gracie Billington in Lancaster on Saturday.

His family say he was influenced over the internet to inhale toxic fumes.

Lisa Keneven's, from Essex, been calling for more regulations since her son Issac died. She says parents are powerless to what their children can see online: "It's the extent to where you give trust to your child when they have a mobile phone.

"You talk to them about the stranger danger and if you see anything that's not quite right then speak to us."

Lisa added that not enough is done to protect children online: "They almost go down a rabbit hole of something they are not aware of is going to be endangering their lives."

Since Tommie-lee's death a fundraiser has been set up for his funeral expenses raising over £3000.

Hollie, also from Essex, has been fighting for a change since her son Archie Battersbee died. She said: "We're not just sitting back and burying our heads in the sand, we're getting out there and getting our voices heard.

"If we can save children's lives then obviously we will continue to do so.

"I think we're all finding our places on what we're pushing, our children have obviously been affected in different ways so we're all finding our different things.

"But we definitely don't plan on stepping down and allowing this to go unheard, we're all going to continue to fight this."

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