What is grooming

What this means

Grooming is when someone slowly builds trust so they can later pressure or exploit a child.

Red flags

1. 1.Contact must stay secret.
2. 2.The child is called mature.
3. 3.The chat moves to a private app.
4. 4.They ask for images, school or address.

What to do

1. 1.Start calmly.
2. 2.Stop contact if safe.
3. 3.Keep only safe details such as username, platform and time.

What not to do

• Do not start by blaming or shaming the child.
• Do not forward private messages, intimate images or explicit screenshots.
• Do not promise that any app can make everything 100% safe.

How Sprout Guard helps

Sprout Guard helps with short, visible safety flows. Parents receive safe metadata only, and the child gets calm explanations.

For parents

1. 1.Start with: You are not in trouble.
2. 2.Ask calmly what happened without pushing for every detail.
3. 3.Choose one next step: stop contact, open a guide or contact help.