Does anyone else's 13yo actually listen when you talk about online predators?

Jan 151 min read

So I had the Talk with my 13yo about not sharing personal info, never meeting online friends in person without a parent, etc. He listened politely but I could tell he thought I was being paranoid. Then like two weeks later I was checking his account (I'm not sorry about this) and saw someone 20+ years old who'd been DMing him trying to get him to play games "without parents knowing." I showed him the messages and THEN he took it seriously. I'm glad I caught it but also... how do you make them understand this is real BEFORE something sketchy happens? He's not stupid, he just thought it couldn't happen to him. How'd you guys handle this?

5 comments308 views

Comments(5)

TTyler K.RegularJan 15

The key thing I found was not lecturing but asking questions instead. Like 'what would you do if someone asked where you go to school' and letting them figure out why it's a bad idea.

DDanielRegularJan 16

Honestly mine just nodded and went back to his phone halfway through. I could tell he was thinking about his Discord friends the whole time.

JJoey M.RegularJan 17

My 13yo actually surprised me and had some really smart thoughts about it. She brought up that her friends think TikTok predators are obviously fake but some are actually sophisticated.

BBob G.RegularJan 17

13 is such a tough age for this. They think they're invincible and that nothing bad could happen to them specifically. My approach was showing actual news stories about kids their age getting catfished.

BBrandon H.RegularJan 17

Yeah the eye-rolling was intense but I think some of it stuck. I followed up a few days later just casually asking what her and her friends talk about online.

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