Parents & Caregivers
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Grooming & Online Safety Resources
Welcome, parents and caregivers. We’re glad you’re here, and we’re here to support you as you explore ways to protect and care for the children you love.
Take your time and begin wherever you wish. You’ll find videos, podcasts and practical resources offering clear information, encouragement and support for conversations that can sometimes feel difficult. Whatever questions bring you here, we hope this page helps you feel supported and more confident about your next steps.
You can also explore more videos and playlists on our YouTube channel.
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026
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If a child is in immediate physical danger, contact the emergency service where the child is located.
In the United States, call 911. For other countries, use the local emergency number or our Global Reporting Contacts.
Download this Quick Reference Guide — When a Child Talks About Abuse
Contents
Grooming: patterns and warning signs
Online grooming
Online enticement
Sextortion: prevention and response
Grooming in teen relationships
Preventing child sexual abuse
Preventing abuse in schools and sports
Online safety and preventing exploitation
Body safety, boundaries and speaking up
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation
Reporting concerns and getting help
Family support and foster or kinship care
Grooming: patterns and warning signs
Grooming is a pattern of behavior in which a person builds trust, access, authority, secrecy, or dependence in order to lower boundaries and make abuse or exploitation easier to carry out or conceal. It can happen in person or online and may involve a child, the child’s family, peers, or a wider community. Many children are harmed by someone they know, but grooming can also involve strangers or online contacts.
Warning signs
- An adult gives one child special attention, gifts, privileges or favoritism.
- They look for time alone with the child, such as offering rides, babysitting, private lessons or sleepovers.
- They ask the child to keep secrets, or call the relationship “special” or “just between us.”
- They test boundaries, for example with tickling, wrestling, lap-sitting, walking in while the child is changing or bathing, or sexual jokes passed off as “education.”
- They isolate the child from parents and friends and present themselves as the only person who really understands them.
- They befriend the parents or family and win their trust to get closer to the child.
- Online, an unknown contact asks lots of personal questions, moves the chat to a private or encrypted app, asks for photos, offers money or game credits, or threatens to share images (sextortion).
- With teens, it can look like an older “boyfriend” or “girlfriend,” gifts, alcohol or drugs, or flattering attention.
- Changes in the child: secretive phone or device use, new gifts or money, withdrawal, mood changes, or sexual knowledge beyond their age.
One sign on its own does not prove abuse. A concerning pattern can be a reason to pay closer attention, check in with the child, document what you observe, and seek guidance from an appropriate safeguarding or child-protection professional.
To Stop Abuse, We First Need to Understand Grooming
Visit website → From Grace Tame, a survivor, advocate and 2021 Australian of the Year, a video explaining how grooming works and why recognizing it matters for prevention.
Protecting Children from Grooming and Abuse
Visit website → From Amy Saltzman, MD, a physician, former competitive gymnast and survivor, a talk explaining how grooming unfolds and how protective adults can respond.
Red Flag Videos
Visit website → From Family Nurturing Center, four 15-second videos showing warning signs involving an older teen, a basketball coach, a trusted neighbor and one-on-one time with a coach.
Safety in Seconds: Red Flags and Grooming Behaviors
Visit website → From Darkness to Light, a U.S. child sexual abuse prevention nonprofit, a short lesson on grooming, common warning signs and what to do if you suspect it.
Signs of Grooming Parents and Kids Should Watch For
Visit website → From CBS Minnesota, a television news segment on grooming warning signs families should recognize.
The five stages of grooming
Visit website → From the National Children’s Alliance, a discussion of research identifying 42 grooming behaviors across five stages: victim selection, gaining access and isolation, building trust, desensitization, and post-abuse maintenance.
Facts About Grooming
Visit website → From RAINN, how grooming works on three levels (physical, psychological and community), the red flags to watch for, and what to do if you suspect it.
Grooming: Know the Warning Signs
Visit website → From RAINN, a hub of warning-sign articles for young children, teens and college-age young adults.
Grooming
Visit website → From NSPCC, what parents need to know about grooming online and in person, the warning signs, and where to get help in the UK.
6 Perpetrator Grooming Behaviors
Visit website → From Saprea, six behaviors to watch for, from singling a child out as “special” to boundary testing and secret communication.
Grooming Signs
Visit website → From Raising Children Network (Australia), warning signs in children and in how an adult treats the parents, such as uninvited offers to babysit or mentor.
Grooming 101: How to Spot It, How to Stop It
Visit website → From Alliance to End Sexual Violence (Connecticut), warning signs, behavior changes in children and practical prevention steps for families and organizations.
How Child Sexual Predators Groom Children
Visit website → From Michigan State University Extension, a free 5-page fact sheet on how predators groom children, adults, families and whole communities to gain access, hide their actions and avoid being caught.
Online grooming
Online Grooming Red Flags
Visit website → From the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, a short video explaining the warning signs of online grooming.
What Is Grooming?
Visit website → From Thorn for Parents, a discussion guide for parents of children ages 7–12 on how online grooming works and how to talk about it.
Online Grooming: What It Is and How It Happens
Visit website → From Thorn, research on how often children are approached online, the tactics abusers use in games, livestreams and social media, and how to report.
Child Grooming and Unwanted Contact
Visit website → From eSafety Commissioner (Australia), warning signs, how to talk with your child, and how to report grooming.
Online Grooming
Visit website → From Cybertip.ca, common online grooming tactics, from posing as a peer to threats and extortion, and how to report in Canada.
What Is Online Grooming? (fact sheet)
Visit website → From CEOP and Internet Matters, a one-page UK factsheet on warning signs and simple steps parents can take.
Dealing with Online Grooming
Visit website → From Internet Matters, what to do if you think your child is being groomed online, including how to report and where to get support in the UK.
The 7 P’s of Grooming
Visit website → From Child Rescue Coalition, seven online grooming tactics to watch for: praise, precocious conversation, photo sharing, privacy, pressure, presents and pulling away.
Online Grooming Safety Guide
Visit website → From Camber Mental Health, a 2026 guide for caregivers on the gaming and social platforms children use, grooming tactics, red flags and what to do.
Online enticement
Online Enticement
Visit website → From National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, red flags of online enticement and how to report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline.
Sextortion: prevention and response
Sextortion: Prevention & Response
Visit website → From Thorn for Parents, what sextortion is, why teens hide it, and how to start calm, judgment-free conversations with 13–17-year-olds.
Grooming in teen relationships
When Love Isn’t Love: Grooming and Teenage Vulnerability
Visit website → From RAINN, how abusers disguise grooming as romance with teenagers, told through a survivor’s story, and what adults should do.
Signs of Grooming
Visit website → From love is respect, for teens, young adults and those who support them: grooming tactics in person and online, and 24/7 help.
Preventing child sexual abuse
Child Sexual Abuse: It Is Your Business
Visit website → From Canadian Centre for Child Protection, a free guide (4th edition, 2024) covering grooming tactics, red flags, how to respond to a disclosure and how to report.
Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse (2nd edition)
Visit website → From Elizabeth Jeglic & Cynthia Calkins, a research-based book for parents on what grooming looks like and how to keep children safe.
Pledge2Protect
Visit website → From U.S. Department of Homeland Security, take the pledge to learn about online child exploitation and help keep children safe, and find ways to share the message with others.
Preventing Grooming by Child Sexual Predators
Visit website → From Michigan State University Extension, a free 9-page fact sheet with practical steps to recognize and interrupt grooming, and ideas for building children’s skills and confidence.
Choosing Safe Adults: Friends & Family Caregivers
Visit website → From Michigan State University Extension, most children who are abused know the person who harmed them, and about a third are family members. This fact sheet helps parents decide which relatives and friends are safe to care for their child: learn how predators operate, consider the context, watch how adults interact with your child, and trust your gut.
Lucy Faithfull Foundation Services
Visit website → From Lucy Faithfull Foundation, the UK charity’s full range of work: professional training, assessments and interventions for families, the Stop It Now helpline, Shore for teenagers, school support, and research.
Darkness to Light’s Story
Visit website → From Darkness to Light, the U.S. nonprofit, founded in 2000 in Charleston, South Carolina, that teaches adults to prevent child sexual abuse through training such as Stewards of Children.
Circles of Safety
Visit website → From Stop It Now!, the flagship prevention training that teaches adults to spot warning signs, speak up and build safety plans. For families and youth-serving organizations.
Stop it Now! Self-Paced Training Videos
Visit website → From Stop It Now!, on-demand courses on prevention essentials, healthy sexuality, children’s behaviors and adults’ behaviors. Visit the website for current prices and introductory options.
Preventing abuse in schools and sports
Recognizing Signs of Grooming in Sports
Visit website → From U.S. Center for SafeSport, four patterns to watch for in coaches and volunteers: role expansion, isolation, boundary testing and sexualization.
- Resources for Parents
Visit website → From U.S. Center for SafeSport, free online courses for parents and children, the SafeSport Ready app, and a searchable database of people banned or restricted from Olympic and affiliated sports.
What Parents Need to Know: Grooming in Sport (PDF)
Visit website → From U.S. Center for SafeSport, a printable guide to early warning signs and prevention steps, from reviewing a club’s policies to setting digital communication rules.
For Parents and Caregivers
Visit website → From National Center to S.E.S.A.M.E., guidance on preventing and responding to educator sexual misconduct, including grooming signs and why to report to law enforcement first.
Fundamentals of Prevention in Youth Sports
Visit website → From Stop It Now!, a free 4-module self-paced course for coaches and adults in youth sports. Covers safety planning and concerning behaviors.
Online safety and preventing exploitation
These resources cover several online risks, including grooming, sextortion, unsafe messaging and sexual exploitation.
Thorn for Parents Discussion Guides
Visit website → From Thorn for Parents, conversation guides you can filter by topic and your child’s age (7–17), covering online safety, sexting and more.
Know2Protect
Visit website → From U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a national campaign to prevent and combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse, with tips for families, schools and communities. Also available at know2protect.gov.
Kids & Teens
Visit website → From U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Know2Protect’s page for young people on staying safe online and what to do if someone makes them uncomfortable.
All Resources & Educational Materials
Visit website → From U.S. Department of Homeland Security, every Know2Protect tip sheet, guide and educational resource in one place, including materials for parents, educators and teens.
Texting Safety
Visit website → From Michigan State University Extension, a free 7-page fact sheet on direct messaging in apps and games, digital footprints, sexting and cyberbullying, and how to talk with children about texting safely.
Parenting in the Online World webinars
Visit website → From the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, live webinars on online risks identified through Cybertip.ca, with tips for talking with children and teens. Visit the website for current dates and language options.
Start Talking: Keeping Children Safe Online
Visit website → From Our Rescue, a free 45-minute online course that shows parents, educators and caregivers how to talk with children about grooming, fake accounts, AI and sextortion. You finish with a downloadable conversation guide you can use at home or in class.
Our Rescue – Family Discussion Guide
Visit website → From Our Rescue, free interactive games that teach kids ages 9–15 to spot online risks, protect their privacy and respond to unsafe messages. A family discussion guide helps adults turn gameplay into real conversations.
Exodus Road – Digital Safety Program
Visit website → From The Exodus Road, a digital safety program with self-paced video courses for parents and teens, live workshops and educator certification. Free enrollment options make it easy to start learning how online exploitation happens and how to prevent it.
Exodus Road – Influenced Parent Academy (sponsored free access)
Visit website → From The Exodus Road, a video course for parents on grooming, sextortion and online exploitation, with a sponsored access option. Check the website for current enrollment terms.
Keeping Kids Safe in the Digital World
Visit website → From Hope for Justice, an award-winning free online course that gives parents practical strategies for messaging apps, social media and gaming. Sign up in minutes and learn at your own pace.
ZOE International – Presentations for Parents
Visit website → From ZOE International, a parent presentation on online dangers with contributors from child protection and law enforcement. Visit the website for recordings and upcoming sessions.
ZOE International – Protecting Kids Online – parent guides
Visit website → From ZOE International, step-by-step guides for setting up phones, consoles and apps safely, plus sextortion and gaming-safety advice. Includes downloadable family contracts and conversation starters.
CSAM Prevention Program
Visit website → From PACT, free interactive workshops in English and Spanish that help parents and caregivers understand online exploitation and trafficking risks. Sessions use group discussion and activities rather than lectures.
Jaco Booyens Ministries – The PlaySafe Game
Visit website → From Jaco Booyens Ministries, a free 10-minute online safety game for children with no login required. Built-in conversation starters help adults follow up on what kids learned.
Jaco Booyens Ministries – Parent Community
Visit website → From Jaco Booyens Ministries, a free hub where parents and educators find toolkits, checklists and on-demand “Prepared Parent” trainings on grooming, sextortion, gaming and AI risks. Content is written from a Christian perspective.
APLE Cambodia – Online Safety for Parents, Caregivers & Educators
Visit website → From APLE Cambodia, practical guidance on grooming, sextortion and warning signs, plus device protections and how to report abuse. Useful for any family or teacher, not only in Cambodia.
Carers Cyber Resilience Training
Visit website → From Lucy Faithfull Foundation, free downloadable training created with the Scottish Government (a 4-hour core course plus 10 one-hour topic modules) that social workers can deliver to kinship carers. Covers grooming, cyberbullying and exploitation, with slides and trainer notes included.
Body safety, boundaries and speaking up
Protect Yourself Rules – Grades K–3
Visit website → From Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, six animated lessons that teach young children about safe and unsafe touch and to “Shout, Run and Tell.” Free to stream, with activities to reinforce learning.
Protect Yourself Rules – Grades 4–6
Visit website → From Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, age-appropriate video lessons on personal safety, online safety and asking trusted adults for help. Free for classrooms and families.
Teen videos
Visit website → From Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, video series for teens on grooming, saying no and disclosing abuse, including “Are You With Me?”. Helps teens support friends too.
Virtual Series
Visit website → From Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, celebrity-hosted episodes (e.g., Aly Raisman, Lance Bass) on abuse prevention for kids, teens and parents. Great for classrooms or family viewing.
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation
Inside the FBI
Visit website → From the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the official Inside the FBI podcast offers conversations about investigations, public safety and threats facing families. Parents and caregivers can explore episodes on child exploitation, human trafficking, missing children and other safety concerns.
One in Ten
Visit website → From the National Children’s Alliance, One in Ten features conversations with experts working to prevent and respond to child abuse. Topics include grooming, online exploitation, prevention, trauma, healing and ways to support children.
Beyond the Screen – The Truth About Porn
Visit website → From Exodus Cry, a 22-lesson (about 3-hour) video course on the harms of pornography and how it connects to exploitation. Available for $39 individually or $90 for groups.
Human Trafficking 101
Visit website → From Our Rescue, a free 45-minute course for anyone, covering what trafficking is, common myths, red flags and how to report. Includes a quiz and downloadable resources.
Hope for Justice – Human Trafficking in the United States
Visit website → From Hope for Justice, a free introductory course on myths, vulnerabilities, trafficker tactics and how to report. Ideal for anyone new to the issue.
Unbound Now – Parents and Caregivers
Visit website → From Unbound Now, on-demand and live sessions for parents on trafficker tactics, social media risks and warning signs. Practical and easy to access.
Jaco Booyens Ministries – Get Educated
Visit website → From Jaco Booyens Ministries, seven learning modules on trafficking, familial trafficking, online exploitation, pornography and CSAM/sextortion. Written from a Christian, family-centered perspective.Ambassador Programs & PAATH
Visit website → From Global Hope 365, volunteer teams for high school and college students (California) and for parents and adults nationwide (PAATH) working to end trafficking. Apply online to join.
Know to Say No
Visit website → From Los Angeles County, a youth letter-writing campaign in which young people share why preventing child trafficking matters, with a shareable social media kit. The page also lists the LA County Child Protection Hotline (800-540-4000).
Warning Signs of Child Sexual Abuse
Visit website → From Michigan State University Extension, a free 7-page fact sheet on the physical and behavioral signs that a child may have been sexually abused, with resources for getting help.
What to Do If Your Child Discloses Sexual Abuse
Visit website → From National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a free fact sheet for parents and caregivers, in English and Spanish, on what disclosure looks like, what to do next, what to do if your child takes back what they said, and how to cope with your own feelings.
Caring for Kids: What Parents Need to Know about Sexual Abuse
Visit website → From National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a free English and Spanish fact sheet that helps parents support a child who has been sexually abused, including how to talk about body safety and respond to a disclosure.
What Should I Do After a Child Tells?
Visit website → From Stop It Now!, plain-language steps for the hours and days after a disclosure: stay steady, believe the child, restore safety, lift the blame off the child, handle your own anger away from them, and get professional help.
Responding to Child Sexual Abuse (Facts for Families No. 28)
Visit website → From American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, a short guide from child psychiatrists: listen without judgment, tell the child they did the right thing and are not to blame, report to child protection or police, and arrange medical and mental health care.
Responding to Disclosure
Visit website → From Early, Open, Often (Committee for Children), guidance for families on staying calm, listening without pressure, believing the child and saying “This was not your fault,” then reporting and finding help.
Reporting concerns and getting help
If you are unsure whether something should be reported, you can still ask a qualified hotline, child-protection agency, law-enforcement agency, or local specialist service what options are available. Reporting duties differ by location and by professional role.
United States
- Suspected online child sexual exploitation, online enticement, sextortion, or child sexual abuse material: report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org. NCMEC also accepts calls at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
- Federal crime or exploitation concern: contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or contact local law enforcement.
- Child abuse or neglect: Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline offers support, safety planning, and referrals. Call 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), text GO to 800-422-4453, or use childhelphotline.org. Childhelp is not an emergency-dispatch service.
If sextortion is happening
Do not pay the person demanding money or send additional images. Save the account details and messages when it is safe to do so, report the account to the platform, and contact a trusted adult or law enforcement. For images taken when the person was under 18, NCMEC’s free Take It Down service may help limit online sharing without requiring the image to be uploaded to NCMEC.
Outside the United States
Use Stop ALL Rape’s Global Reporting Contacts to find country-specific police, child-protection, trafficking, and exploitation reporting routes. For crisis and support services, see Get Help.
Stop ALL Rape is a global resource hub. We connect visitors to information, organizations, and professionals; we do not receive crime reports, conduct investigations, or provide direct crisis services.
Family support and foster or kinship care
Training & Resources hub
Visit website → From Alliance for Children’s Rights, free webinars and guides for caregivers, educators and legal professionals on foster care, education rights and youth benefits. New trainings are added regularly.
Resource Family Approval Toolkit (English)
Visit website → From Alliance for Children’s Rights, a step-by-step guide to becoming an approved foster or relative caregiver in California. Covers funding, child rights and support systems.
Resource Family Approval Toolkit (Spanish)
Visit website → From Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Spanish-language version of the RFA toolkit. Helps Spanish-speaking caregivers navigate approval.
KAFA – Positive Parenting Campaign w/UNICEF
Visit website → From KAFA, positive-parenting support launched with UNICEF in 2021: six animated videos, a booklet, an info line and support for caregivers under stress. Arabic-language resources from Lebanon.
Explore more resources on Stop ALL Rape’s YouTube channel.
How Stop ALL Rape Reviews Parent & Caregiver Resources
- We prioritize official government, child-protection, recognized nonprofit, university, medical, and specialist safeguarding sources.
- We distinguish warning signs from proof of abuse and avoid presenting behavior changes as a diagnosis.
- We verify safety-critical reporting links and clarify when a resource is informational rather than a crisis or reporting service.
- We identify age ranges, geographic limits, and service limitations when they materially affect how a resource can be used.
- External resources are provided for education and support; listing does not imply formal endorsement by Stop ALL Rape.
Maintained by: Stop ALL Rape Editorial Team
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026
Review cadence: At least quarterly, and sooner when a significant safety or service change is identified.
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