Unwanted contact and grooming
Unwanted contact and grooming
Socialising online can be a great way for children to build friendships, but it can also put them at risk. Help your child recognise, avoid and deal with unwanted contact — and understand what grooming looks like.
How to deal with unwanted contact
First steps to keep your child safe
- Make their accounts private — check privacy settings and limit who can contact or follow them.
- Delete contacts they don’t talk to — review followers/friends and remove anyone they don’t actually know.
- Report and block suspicious, harassing or threatening messages. Don’t reply.
- Decline requests from strangers — encourage them to ignore and delete unexpected friend or follow requests.
How does online grooming work?
Grooming often starts with friendly conversation and small favours. Over time, the person may try to isolate the child, move chats to private apps, ask personal questions, send gifts, or request images. Teach them to recognise these patterns early and to come to you if anything feels uncomfortable.
How can I protect my child?
Stay involved in their digital world
- Keep up-to-date with the sites, apps and chat services they use, and explore them together.
- Build an open, trusting relationship so they’ll tell you when something feels wrong.
- Help them use privacy controls to restrict who can see their information and contact them.
Teach early warning signs
- Spot attempts to move chats to private apps, requests for secrecy, gifts, or personal questions.
- Agree on safe rules for meeting online ‘friends’ face to face — they should never go alone.
What to do if something goes wrong
- Listen, think, stay calm — thank them for telling you and focus on safety first.
- Collect evidence (screenshots, usernames, links) and report the person to the platform.
- Block and manage contact while you follow up with school, service providers or police as needed.
- Get help and support — check in regularly about how they’re feeling and seek counselling if required.
This material has been adapted with permission from the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner. Permission to adapt content does not constitute endorsement of material by the eSafety Commissioner.