Parents urged to be vigilant over ‘vile Momo Challenge’

The PSNI, children’s charities and schools have spoken out to warn of the horrors of the “vile Momo Challenge” which promotes suicide.

Detective Sergeant Elaine McCormill, PSNI Public Protection Branch, stated: “This extremely disturbing challenge conceals itself within other harmless looking games or videos played by children, and when downloaded, it asks the user to communicate with “Momo” via popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp. It is at this point that children are threatened that they will be cursed or their family will be hurt if they do not self-harm.

“I am disgusted that a so-called game is targeting our young children and I would encourage parents to know what your children are looking at and who they are talking to.

“Whilst the threat of a curse may sound silly to an adult, it could be a very frightening prospect for a young child and they may feel under pressure to carry out acts to protect themselves or family from further harm.

“The most fundamental piece of advice that I can offer is to speak with your children – let them know that they do not have to deal with any concerns on their own. It is crucial that parents are involved with their children’s online lives and I’d urge parents to make children aware of online dangers and ensure they know that they can speak to someone if anything or anyone online causes them concern.