Online grooming guide

What parents need to know

Grooming is when someone seeks to build an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for sexual purposes. It happens both online and face to face.

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Guide for parents - Online grooming

What is online grooming?

Grooming is when someone seeks to build an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for sexual purposes. It happens both online and face to face
Children may often meet people through social and gaming sites that aren’t who they say they are so it’s important to discuss the risks with them
Once groomers have gained a child’s trust they may encourage them to share sexual images, or videos of themselves, live stream, or arrange to meet
Groomers are not always strangers and sometimes children may not be aware that they are being groomed believing they’re in a relationship with the person

Talk about it

Show them where to get help if they are concerned and to talk to you or a trusted adult for support
Spend time discussing where they interact with friends online and how and what they share with others
Explain how easy it is to pretend to be someone else online, and why an adult may wish to approach them
Remind them that the people they have met online might feel like friends but they may not be who they say they are
Discuss what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like to make them aware

Tools to keep them safe

Encourage them to make use of privacy settings on the social networks and platforms they use so they stay in control of who can see their content.
For younger children use our parental control how-to-guides to set the right controls across devices, platforms and internet connections.

Spotting the signs

Wanting to spend more and more time on the internet
Being secretive about who they are talking to online and what sites they visit
Switching screens when you come near the computer
Possessing items – electronic devices or phones – you haven’t given them
Using sexual language – you wouldn’t expect them to know
Becoming emotionally volatile

Steps to take if it happens

Report it to the authorities
Reassure them it’s not their fault
Seek support from the National Crime Agency’s or CEOP
Contact Childline on 0800 1111 or the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 for one-to-one support
Report any sexual abuse images to the Internet Watch Foundation