Nadia Sawalha: I feel so guilty
Loose Woman Nadia Sawalha recalls the terrifying time her daughter was targeted by a paedophile…
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare – that their child could be targeted online by a predator. And it’s something that mumof-two Nadia Sawalha (she has Maddie, 15, and Kiki, 10) learned is a very real danger.
‘Children don’t have to go out now to have terrible things happen to them. It can happen in their bedroom,’ she says, recalling an incident involving Maddie when she was just seven – something her daughter still recalls, years later.
‘It was a normal Saturday morning. My stepdaughter, Fleur, and Maddie were playing on Facebook. My husband, Mark, had all kinds of security on his laptop, so we thought it was safe.’
However, it was anything but. A link to a site about ‘ bunny rabbits’ took the girls to a chatroom where four grown men appeared, telling them they were pretty before one went on to expose himself and start masturbating.
‘It was horrendous. She was around seven, imagine that – your child is basically sexually assaulted. It was so shocking.’
Now, Nadia has made it her mission to find out as much as she can about the dangers of the internet – and, along with best buddy Kaye Adams, she has joined forces with internet security expert Will Geddes to write a guide for parents.
‘I hope it will help people talk to their kids,’ says Nadia. ‘ We talk about sex and drugs, but don’t have a conversation about phones. Yet, if we turn away, children are in danger.
‘They always have been and always will be, but it’s better to have the information than bury your head in the sand.’
She explains, ‘Looking back, I feel terribly guilty. I unintentionally neglected them when I first put that phone in their hands. It suited me when I was busy for my daughter to be on it, and it suited me to be lazy about finding out all about it.’
But, now, Nadia is all too aware of the potential dangers, such as grooming, sexting, bullying, drugs and sexstortion (when children are blackmailed after sharing sexual images – something that has caused children to take their own lives).
‘ You have to be totally alert – it’s not one thing. I was at my peak of fear before we did this book. Now, yes, I am scared, but I’m scared about the whole world! But what can you do when you’re frightened?
‘Inform yourself. Get wise, realise where you’ve gone wrong. Mark and I weren’t really on it – but we are now.’ l Parent Alert! How To Keep Your Kids Safe Online, by Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams and Will Geddes, £15.99, DK.com
‘Horrendous… imagine that – your child is basically sexually assaulted… shocking’