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us Sexual violence & highly sensitive situations adult asking sexual questions • sexual chats in game • sexual messages in app • online enticement concern • stranger in game chat • adult messaging my child • explicit chat request • sexualised roleplay messages • inappropriate gaming messages • child contacted sexually online • predator in gaming app • unsafe app conversation • asking for sexual chat • adult pretending younger • child exploitation worry • sexual talk in dm • suspicious chat in game

What to do if…
you discover an adult is asking your child for sexualised chats in a game or app

Short answer

Get your child out of that conversation, reassure them they are not in trouble, and treat this as a child-exploitation concern rather than a discipline issue. If there is any immediate danger, threat, blackmail, or plan to meet in person, call 911 right away.

Do not do these things

  • Do not tell your child to keep chatting with the person.
  • Do not message the adult from your child’s account to confront them.
  • Do not pressure your child to explain everything at once.
  • Do not blame your child for responding, flirting back, or not recognizing the risk.
  • Do not delete the messages immediately if you may want to report.
  • Do not post screenshots publicly or send them around to other parents.
  • Do not try to identify, trick, or meet the person yourself.

What to do now

  1. End the contact now and stay with your child. Close the app or game, stop further messaging, and keep the device with you for the moment so the contact does not continue while your child is overwhelmed.

  2. Tell your child plainly that this is not their fault and they are not in trouble. Ask only the few questions you need right now: what platform it happened on, whether the person asked for sexual chat, images, live video, secrecy, money, or an in-person meeting, and whether the person has any real-world details about them.

  3. If you may want to report, save a small factual record before the chat disappears. Take screenshots that show the username, profile, platform, and the sexualized messages, plus date and time if shown. Keep this limited and practical.

  4. Report the account inside the game or app and then block it. Use the platform’s tools to report sexual communication with a minor, grooming, exploitation, or inappropriate contact, depending on the options offered.

  5. Make a report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. In the U.S., this is a public reporting route for suspected online child sexual exploitation, including online enticement.

  6. Call 911 or your local police immediately if the person is threatening your child, demanding sexual images, blackmailing them, trying to meet in person, or appears to know where they are. If the danger is not immediate, you can still report to local law enforcement and to the CyberTipline after you have secured your child and stopped the contact.

  7. If your child is very distressed, ashamed, or frightened about images, threats, or what might happen next, bring in another trusted support adult the same day, such as a school counselor or another school safeguarding contact, so your child is not carrying this alone.

  8. If sexual images were already shared, do not bargain with the person or keep sending replies to calm them down. Focus on safety, reporting, and support.

What can wait

You do not need to decide today whether your child will ever use that game or app again, whether to overhaul every privacy setting, or whether to have a full technology-rules discussion. You also do not need to figure out the offender’s real identity or gather proof beyond a basic record of what happened.

Important reassurance

Children are often manipulated through secrecy, flattery, pressure, or fear. Your calm response matters more right now than having the perfect words, and removing blame makes it easier for your child to keep accepting help.

Scope note

This is first steps only. Later decisions about platform safety, school support, counseling, or law-enforcement follow-up may need specialist help.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, clinical, or investigative advice. In highly sensitive situations like this, the safest first priority is your child’s immediate emotional and physical safety, followed by appropriate reporting and support.

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