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  • Online grooming guide what parents need to know

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

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More to explore

See related advice and practical tips to support children online:

  • Advice for 11-13 years
  • Advice for 14+ year olds
  • Online grooming resources

On site links

  • Dealing with online grooming
  • Online safety issues
  • Online safety advice by age
  • Learn about online grooming

Related Web Links

  • Online issues
  • Cyberbullying
  • Inappropriate content
  • Sexting
  • Self-harm
  • Screen time
  • Radicalisation
  • Online grooming
  • Online pornography
  • Online reputation
  • Privacy and identity theft
  • Advice by age
  • Pre-school (0-5)
  • Young children (6-10)
  • Pre-teen (11-13)
  • Teens ( 14+)
  • Setting controls
  • Smartphones and other devices
  • Broadband & mobile networks
  • Gaming platform & other devices
  • Social media privacy guides
  • Entertainment & search engines
  • Connecting Safely Online
  • Resources
  • My Family’s Digital Toolkit
  • Online gaming advice hub
  • The dangers of digital piracy
  • Digital resilience toolkit
  • Social media advice hub
  • Guide to apps
  • Accessibility on Internet Matters
  • Digital Matters
  • Schools resources
  • Early years resources
  • Primary school resources
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  • Parent pack for teachers
  • News & opinion
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