Who's really in your child's game
Online games have become social spaces, and not everyone your child meets there is who they say they are. Understanding how these strange contacts start is the first step to staying ahead of them.
What you can do to stay safe
Most gaming risks can be managed with honest conversations and a few shared habits. You don't need to ban gaming. You just need to make a plan together, and your family is already more prepared than you think.
4 Make gaming conversations part of family life Ask your child who they're playing with and how they know them Encourage them to come to you right away if someone asks personal questions or makes them feel uneasy Make it clear that sharing a concern will never get them in trouble Set a household rule about moving off-platform Agree that any request to move the chat somewhere else is a red flag and gets shared with a parent before responding Frame this as a shared family agreement, not a list of restrictions Practice a ready response together: "I need to check with my parents first" is enough Use a family safety tool for shared governance Choose tools that guide and support your child, rather than police or monitor them Align safety boundaries with your family's values across every device and platform Build peace of mind with a shared system, not constant checking Use tools to support the conversations you're already having, not to replace them Know how to report and who to contact Encourage your child to use in-game "report" and "block" tools whenever someone makes them uncomfortable Report the incident to your local consumer protection authority if something more serious happens Contact your country's child protection service if you're concerned a child has been targeted for exploitation Contact local law enforcement right away, and save screenshots before blocking for immediate safety threats AI