MOMO Challenge - Online Safety Guide for Parents FEB 2019
Dear Parents & Carers,
Following on from yesterday's Spider message warning of inappropriate content on YouTube, we are aware there is a lot of media interest in a number of online trends, specifically on news outlets referencing something called the MOMO Challenge.
Although a lot of the information about the MOMO Challenge is rather concerning, it’s important to note that new challenges are arising on the internet all the time.
Advice to parents – they should work to create a positive relationship with their children around their internet use, closely supervising younger children’s online access, and crucially, ensuring their children feel they can tell them (or another trusted adult) if they ever encounter anything worrying.
Parental controls go some way to protecting children from accidentally viewing disturbing content but are unlikely to prevent it in many cases, for example when content has been deliberately spliced into content aimed at children.
Inappropriate content should be reported direct to the online service it appears on.
Parents may find the following article useful:
https://parentzone.org.uk/article/three-minute-briefing-momo-challenge
We have added a PDF guide to raise awareness of the issue and offer advice on helping parents to talk to their children about making safer decisions online. This is posted as a NEWS ITEM on our website
See the ‘7 conversation starters’ guide for more tips on better communication with your child.
Do not hesitate to ask should you have any further questions.
Thank-you for your co-operation on this matter.