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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think this mum should have been more concerned

735 replies

consideratealpaca · 09/09/2020 20:07

Dd9 has an account on a popular online gaming platform. During lockdown she spent a reasonable amount of time playing this game with her class friends from school. One particular girl and DD have butted heads a few times and fell out, which to me seemed like normal kid like behaviour and I wasn't concerned.
Despite me trying to persuade DD not to, she opted to spend some of her birthday money on 'diamonds' to enhance her game experience. I think she spent roughly £100 in dribs and drabs, which I wasn't impressed about, but it is her money when all is said and done.
Last week she came to me and said her account had been 'hacked' and all her diamonds, special objects etc had been stolen. She was then shut out of her own account. It finally transpired that she'd given the girl in her class who she frequently argues with her log in details.
Ordinarily I wouldn't particularly care but this child has stolen the things she bought with her birthday money as well as all the credits she had accrued in game play.
The girls had a brief exchange on WhatsApp and the class friend admitted she had taken my daughters diamonds etc and then changed her password.
I'm pretty sure I can take back control of the account for her, but everything is now lost. Her friend meanwhile, has all of my daughters diamonds and credits.

I messaged the mother of the child in question and whilst the message was read, it was ignored. So I approached her in a polite and friendly way in the playground this afternoon. I was hoping that she'd be shocked at her daughter's behaviour and perhaps we'd get an apology at least. I do not want to be reimbursed for the lost money, and stated that from the start.
The mother's reaction was just to shrug and waffle about not getting involved. Am I right to be mildly pissed off, or ridiculous for making an issue of it to begin with?

OP posts:
SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 21:26

Where would you draw the line? You are comfortable enough with your DD seeing a BJ pic that you have continued to allow her to have contact on WhatsApp with the child who sent her that picture via WhatsApp. What about if next time its something more hardcore? Anal? Fisting? A bit of bukkake? Beastiality? All stuff that regularly gets passed around via WhatsApp and could easily make it to your DD if she is in contact with someone who has sent porn before? You said yourself the mum doesn't give a shit so who knows what this child is receiving and potentially sending on.

I have had plenty of conversations with my son about online safety and I know you will find this really shocking but he does now have a pretty good basic idea of what sex involves... Because we talked about it! Shock Can you believe it?! Im not sure he knows what a blow job is though so I guess we are a bit behind, given he is now a whole 10 years old and all.....

If reducing the risk of my 10 year old being exposed to potentially hardcore porn by not allowing him on an app which is notorious for that kind of thing means I'm 'sheltering him' and being a 'sanctimonious prick' then I really don't give a fuck if that's what I am Smile

PablosHoney · 11/09/2020 21:27

As an aside who would have imagined a 9 year old would WhatsApp an image like that and where did she get it from? I can’t believe her mum wasn’t 😱 at that.

SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 21:30

I've been using WhatsApp for years now and haven't seen any porn

And yet your 9 year old DD has.

You can keep pushing the narrative that I am an uptight, sheltered, tee total helicopter parent, who only had sex twice myself and would never utter anything about sex to my own children if that makes you feel better by the way, I don't really care. Goodnight!

consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 21:34

@PablosHoney Quite. The mind boggles. As far as I'm aware this child is using her mothers phone, so clearly she's been given free reign of a device that's set up with no filters.

@SoManyActivities Oh do behave. The line has always and will continue to be firmly drawn. Of course I'm not shocked that your child knows about sex at age 10, so they should! And if they can't talk to you about it, then what hope is there for a nation with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe (last time I checked, which was admittedly a long time ago).

There was so many things you can do to protect your children. Allowing them to use your WhatsApp for 5 minutes a day, supervised, is on the list...sure. At number 5078. Get a fucking grip.

OP posts:
caughtalightsneeze · 11/09/2020 21:35

You know that in the dark ages they used to think that a certain combination of notes could summon the devil.

The augmented 4th Shock

You've probably summoned the devil just mentioning it Grin

consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 21:36

@SoManyActivities I'm not pushing a narrative, you are. I'm defending myself, because YOU ARE WRONG.

Goodnight. Don't choke on your pearls.

OP posts:
consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 21:37

@caughtalightsneeze

You know that in the dark ages they used to think that a certain combination of notes could summon the devil.

The augmented 4th Shock

You've probably summoned the devil just mentioning it Grin

😂 'He' arrived on this thread a few hours back.
OP posts:
PablosHoney · 11/09/2020 21:41

‘All stuff that regularly gets passed around on WhatsApp’ Wtf?? 😂😂 no it doesn’t.

BananaLlamaConCalma · 11/09/2020 21:42

People are quite precious on here about online gaming. You've done nothing wrong OP. She was hacked. You can't watch for that even if you say watching her play... play, not gamble 🧐🙄

I can't believe she said she didn't want to get involved. The girls a thief and the mother is no better. Cut all contact, block her on the games and WhatsApp.

It's not nice but it's a very important lesson your DD has learnt.

SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 21:45

Oh do behave. The line has always and will continue to be firmly drawn.

So what if next time its a more hardcore image than a blow job that your DD sees? Doesn't seem like a very firmly drawn line to me, seeing as she is still in contact with said porn sender? 🤷‍♀️

You and other posters seem surprised that a 9 year old would send porn (although you seem strangely cool with it being sent to your child) but that is the very reason that a lot of people don't allow their pre teens access to WhatsApp: because they know that porn gets sent around by 9 year olds and they don't want their own 9 year olds to see it!

PablosHoney · 11/09/2020 21:47

That’s not why I didn’t let mine use WhatsApp 😂

SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 21:48

@PablosHoney

‘All stuff that regularly gets passed around on WhatsApp’ Wtf?? 😂😂 no it doesn’t.
Now who is the sheltered one?! Of course it does! Do you mean because you haven't personally seen it on WhatsApp yourself?

The OPs DD has seen it. You were surprised that a 9 year old would send porn on WhatsApp so forgive me for thinking you aren't all that clued up yourself. This stuff happens and is the reason that I 'wrap my son up in cotton wool' by not letting him use it.

TheLastStarfighter · 11/09/2020 21:48

(I’m really starting to feel I must be using WhatsApp wrong Hmm)

PablosHoney · 11/09/2020 21:54

I think you are coming across as slightly hysterical, I don’t think the OPs daughter has seen Anal fisting or Bukkake, you must have some very odd friends if you expect that’s what will be sent.

consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 21:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 21:56

I should not post now until I'm sensibly thinking again in the morning. Apologies.

This thread has gone completely wonky. First they go mad about the gaming, then the money, now the inappropriate image. But the stealing....yeah, that's alright. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 22:00

OK, so the line is at seeing images of blow jobs. Seeing images of anal is ridiculous and would of course never happen anyway and would only happen if you had 'odd friends'.

BF2748 · 11/09/2020 22:05

Whether OP was sits next to her daughter looking over her shoulder whilst she’s on WhatsApp or not her Dd would’ve still seen the picture. The problem is the other child sending the picture and the parents reaction to it, not OP her daughter didn’t post it. Why is the issue that her daughter was unattended on WhatsApp but not the other parent for allowing her child to access and post porn to other children?

Its amazing to see how many people think that principals are different for online vs in person. Her account was effectively hacked and her items which were purchased robbed. So how many posters here would be happy for someone they knew to go into their online banking and help themselves? None. This is why kids are growing up without principals because they’re not being taught right from wrong in the online world.

Enjoy time away OP!

PablosHoney · 11/09/2020 22:05

Yes frankly it would only happen if you had odd friends, why on earth would my friends send images of anal 😂😂 and how twee 🤮

consideratealpaca · 11/09/2020 22:10

@SoManyActivities I kind of understand what you're saying, I do. But how do you police this stuff at all times? What's to stop this imagery being sent via text? Your mum's WhatsApp? A wank mag in the playground? A dirty phonecall. FaceTime - exposing yourself in years to come. You CANNOT stop it getting through. Despite my best efforts it has...and I chose to roll with it.

OP posts:
SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 22:11

Whether OP was sits next to her daughter looking over her shoulder whilst she’s on WhatsApp or not her Dd would’ve still seen the picture. The problem is the other child sending the picture and the parents reaction to it, not OP her daughter didn’t post it. Why is the issue that her daughter was unattended on WhatsApp but not the other parent for allowing her child to access and post porn to other children?

Because you can't control what other parents do, you can only control what you do. Yes, the other child sending porn is a huge issue, possibly a safeguarding one because how the fuck did she get it in the first place, and if I were the OP I might want to raise it with the school as well (sorry if that sounds 'sanctimonious'). But ultimately you can only control what you do. And if you don't want your kids seeing porn online, don't allow them to have contact on WhatsApp with children who have previously sent porn.

Yes frankly it would only happen if you had odd friends, why on earth would my friends send images of anal

Erm, I'm not talking about my friends... I'm talking about the OPs daughter's friend who has previously sent porn to the OP's phone? Or do you think a child who has sent an image of a blow job wouldn't pass on anything more hardcore than that if it were sent to them, because they know where the line is at 9 years old? The OPs daughter has 'odd friends'.... with whom she is still in contact with via WhatsApp.

Oblahdeeoblahdoe · 11/09/2020 22:13

I would be very worried about the other child. She conned your DD into revealing her log in details, stole from her and has sent pornographic images to a group chat of 9 year olds! On top of that she has a mother who doesn't give a fuck. I'd be raising these issues with the school due to safeguarding concerns.

SoManyActivities · 11/09/2020 22:16

But how do you police this stuff at all times?

Well, I would say that not allowing your child to have WhatsApp contact with a child who has previous for sending porn would be a fairly strong start.

You can't police it. I know my kids will see porn on phones probably way before I want them to. And we are not just talking naked boobies in a magazine you found on the street, we are talking hardcore porn. Because it's out there and unregulated and with the nature of phones and the Internet these days it is really hard to police.

But there are some fairly easy steps you can take when your child is 9 years old in order to reduce the risk.

PlanetSlattern · 11/09/2020 22:18

I'm glad your daughter has been reimbursed OP. I was shocked by the amount she had spent at first, but when I realised it was over a period of months, and lockdown, it makes more sense. My children have watched a lot of Disney+ over the same period, which also has no tangible value. Smile

However, I am surprised more people haven't picked up on the pornographic image and I agree with @SoManyActivities.

I do not think it's comparable with old-style lads' mags in days of Yore – an image of a sex act is far more shocking than a pair of tits or even a dick pic, in my opinion. I also think it has little to do with sex education, at that age – also my opinion only.

It's great your daughter told you about the image, but you say yourself she originally tried to hide the truth from you (by asking her friend to delete the pic). Is that really what you would call dealing with it well?

I wouldn't expect any other response really so it's not that I blame her. And yes, these things happen sometimes, I suppose. But your attitude is flippant; it's how I would expect someone to act if their child walked in on THEM having sex – embarrassing, yes, shameful, no.

Actual active pornography? A whole different story.

PlanetSlattern · 11/09/2020 22:21

*It's not that I blame her FOR TRYING TO HIDE IT, that should say.