00:00Craig Silvey's books are loved by kids across Australia, including Ariana Still's ten-year-old daughter.
00:10So my daughter came home sort of like in the last couple of weeks of Term 4 and said she'd had such a great day because they had FaceTimed with Craig Silvey and she was still, you know, very much in the excitement of the second book coming out.
00:19And I said, that's awesome. What did you guys talk about? And she said, we asked him questions and he answered our questions.
00:23And I was so excited that she'd had access to someone who she really admired in that way.
00:27The renowned author is now facing allegations of possessing and distributing child exploitation material, leaving parents like Ariana in uncharted waters.
00:38It's such a serious and egregious claim and something that without giving, you know, the full context to your children, it's almost impossible to navigate.
00:46Psychologist and parenting expert Bailey Bosch says parents should start by asking their child what they've heard and resist over explaining.
00:55Especially for young children, we want to keep it very simple. The person who wrote that story has been accused of doing something wrong and adults who look after us are investigating that. It's okay to still enjoy the story.
01:07Dr Bosch hopes it serves as a reminder to parents not to shy away from difficult conversations.
01:13I think it's also very important that we don't ask children to make a moral decision.
01:17So are we throwing our books away? Are we burning them?
01:20It's not about that at all. Children shouldn't be put in that position.
01:23Rather, we want this to be an opportunity to have a conversation and encourage critical thinking, encourage protective behaviours.
01:30Craig Silvey's books have been stripped from the school curriculum while the allegations against him are under investigation.
01:37The 43-year-old is due back in court next month.
01:43The 44-year-old is sick.
01:47It's unable to forgive your kids.
01:48It isn't really difficult to avoid cop
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