Educate and protect your kids from Game Grooming
Online gaming is a popular pastime for many children and teens. Giving users an interactive experience appeals to young users, but it’s important to educate your children on the dangers of this feature and equip them with knowledge they need so they can identify concerning behavior.
What is game grooming?
Predators will look to contact children and teens through gaming apps and may identify vulnerable youth and attempt to groom them. Predators sometimes pose as other young players, partner with victims during gameplay to forge a bond, and work to build trust through chat features. Eventually a predator may try to encourage their victim to meet in person.
How can my child avoid it?
For young children, consider disabling the online play feature on their app. In many games, players can compete in an offline version of the game, which prevents other users from messaging them.
If your child plays the online version, talk to them about the dangers of interacting with strangers online. Remind them to never offer any personal or private information and don’t ever agree to meet with anyone in person.
Encourage your child to come to you if they observe any concerning chat behaviors and continue to monitor their game play.
