DD 13 been in chatrooms... worried

[SunnySurrey]

I've never looked at DDs (just turned 13) search history before but something was niggling me about her behaviour so I did.... I found that for the last week or two she had been going to a chat site called chatiw and had been receiving sexual messages from men and engaging in some messaging with them. I didn't delve too deeply I thought it would upset me so I only looked at two and the message exchanges were very short. But I also noticed in her searches on Google after things like "what's a semi?" and "what's caressing?" I have spoken to her about the site not told her off just said me and DH need to keep her safe and that these places are dangerous. The site has now been blocked but I feel I can't trust her now and it's making me very said and I don't know what to do.... I've been crying all morning thinking about my poor daughter and where she has been.... I don't think she really understands my concern and I wish I could stop feeling so sad about it. Anyone been in a similar situation and have any advice.

In an ideal world, you could just advise her and she would listen. This might not be the case if she is showing an interest in this.

If she has an iphone you can set up parental locks so that you can block deletion of history. And let her know that to maintain her safety you will check on her phone periodically.

You can also block the internet and downloading of certain apps. If she needs the internet she can always use it in a communal space.

Buy her a book which explains growing up and let her know that she can ask you if she needs yo know what something means.

Also show her videos of the dangers of talking to strangers on the internet.

Thanks for the response. I have blocked as much as I can, there were already settings on the broadband to restrict access to adult sites but I guess it can't block everything. I can't stop crying about it at the moment. I feel so sad that at her age men who are probably much older than her have been contacting her and it makes me so sad that a girl who has never even kissed a boy has now been exposed to god knows what. I want to be able to trust her and feel comfortable but I don't how to.... at least I suppose I found out soon rather than later and it seems to have only been going on for a couple of weeks...