ONLINE GROOMING

WHAT IF MY CHILD TOLD ME SOMEONE HAS BEEN SHOWING HER SOME NUDE PICTURES ONLINE? 

What can I do? 

Hello beautiful people, I trust you’re all well and keeping safe. ❤️❤️❤️

Still on the Topic of paying attention to what your kids are doing?

Today’s parenting Tips is about – ONLINE GROOMING 

Do you know who your child is talking to online? 

A 13 year old girl once told me that a random man sent a naked pictures of himself to her! 🙄

Also just a few days ago, a 10 year old girl also told me she received a random call and some offensive pictures from a stranger.

I asked her what she did. She said she showed it to her mum and she deleted it.

So dear parents, are you aware of what is going on in your child’s life? 

Do you think it’s wise to give an 8 year old a phone?

I know some kids as young as 7 have access to a mobile phone!

Giving your child a mobile phone is not the big issue here, the big issue is that, have you  talked to them about online safety before you gave them a phone?

Please dear parents talk to your children before you give them access to a mobile phone, do not shout at them when you see strange things on their phone, when you haven’t spoken to them about the danger of being online.

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What is grooming?

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

Children and young people who are groomed can be sexually abused, exploited or trafficked.

Anybody can be a groomer, no matter their age, gender or race. Grooming can take place over a short or long period of time – from weeks to years. 

Groomers may also build a relationship with the young person’s family or friends to make them seem trustworthy or authoritative.

Types of grooming

Children and young people can be groomed online, in person or both – by a stranger or someone they know. 

This could be a family member, a friend or someone who has targeted them – like a teacher, pastors or sports coach. 

When a child is groomed online, groomers may hide who they are by sending photos or videos of other people. 

🎯 Some of the signs you might see if your child has been groomed:👇👇

♦️They may be very secretive about how they’re spending their time, including when online

♦️They may be having an older boyfriend or girlfriend

♦️They may have money or new things like clothes and mobile phones that they can’t or won’t explain

♦️ They may be spending more time online or on their devices.

♦️ They may be upset often and withdrawn. 

♦️They may be using sexual language or an understanding of sex that’s not appropriate for their age

WHAT TO DO👇

My advice for you as a parent is to; 

✅Be wise and talk to your children about online safety 

✅Ask them some questions about who they are talking to or playing games with online 

✅Put some parental control on their phone

✅ Pray for Wisdom and understanding 

✅ Connect before you CORRECT them 

✅ Educate yourself (there are so many resources online about parenting) 

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‼️By the way, I overheard one of my students talking to his friends about how he was able to hack the parental control her mom put on her phone 😀 

So dear parents, you have a lot of work to do o ❤️😊🤗

 I’m sure you know that already!!

We are raising a very intelligent generation of children o 😀

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If a child talks to you about grooming it’s important to:

✔️listen carefully to what they’re saying

✔️let them know they’ve done the right thing by telling you

✔️tell them it’s not their fault

And do something about it!

Report it to the police 👮‍♀️ 

It’s important to remember that children and young people may not understand they’ve been groomed. 

That’s why you need to keep talking to them and paying attention to your kids 

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Thanks Olu

Please let me know your thoughts on this 👇👇

!