A message on Snapchat

I’m sharing this because I wish another parent had told me something like it before it happened to us. My daughter was in the park with two friends, all eleven, still little in so many ways. They were laughing and chatting. It felt like a completely safe place. I was sittiing on a bench talking to the other mums, I was right there.

What I didn’t realise was that one of the girls was on snapchat and playing with the filters. One of them mentioned that a “boy from another school” had added her earlier that day, and the three of them got curious. The profile looked like a normal twelve or thirteen year old. He liked the same music, made them laugh, It all felt innocent to them.

Then he asked if they wanted to video chat. They thought it was just silly fun and pressed accept. But the face that appeared on the screen wasn’t a boy. It was a much older man. What he said and did next was something no child should ever see.

They screamed and ran to us shaking. We called the police right away. Later we found out the man had been using fake photos to target lots of children, adding whoever accepted his requests.

The girls were physically safe, but emotionally they were shaken. One had nightmares for days. Another didn’t want to use her phone at all. And I was left with the guilt of knowing this happened even though I was right there next to them.

I’m sharing this so other parents know how easily it can happen. Even in places we think are safe. Even when we’re nearby. Clear rules about devices and supervision matter more than we sometimes realise. I could kick myself I've worked so hard to prepare her for the outside world and just didnt even warn her of any of these risks. What I learnt, talk to your kids about the dangers of talking to people they don't now.

Mum of an eleven year old girl