Mum reveals how she beat Momo Challenge after her 5-year-old threatened to stab pals

28 February 2019, 12:49

The Momo character has been targeting children on social media
The Momo character has been targeting children on social media. Picture: Getty

A mum has revealed her tips on handling the twisted 'suicide game' Momo challenge that's sweeping the nation

A twisted online game called The Momo challenge is sweeping the internet, and one mum has revealed her 'clever trick' on how to handle the terrifying situation - after her five-year-old shockingly threatened to stab his classmates after being contacted by the hacker.

Read more: What is Momo? What is the Momo suicide game? Everything you need to know, including how to protect your children

Elli Spicer was shocked to be called into her son's school and told about his threat, and has opened up about how she's handling the Momo problem on Facebook.

The measures she's taken include uninstalling some apps on his tablet, turning on parental controls and banning him from YouTube.

Parents are being urged to watch over their kids amid terrifying Momo Challenge situation
Parents are being urged to watch over their kids amid terrifying Momo Challenge situation. Picture: Social media

She wrote on Facebook "Please tell your kids it's pretend!

"Even if you think they haven't ever seen this ugly b******, the likelihood is they probably have.

She continued: "I’m absolutely devastated! - this is long winded, apologies.

"In the car on the way home from school yesterday, I asked Honey or Ronnie if they knew what “Momo” meant? (I never showed them a photo and I wasn’t ever going to, I just said the name).

"Honey instantly looked in my mirror at me and went 'Eww Mum I have she’s got a smile like joker & big scary eyes' - Ronnie just sat there staring at me.

"Honey said she’d never watched a video of this sick freak telling her to do bad or dangerous things but that she’s popped up in loads of innocent kids videos on YouTube, where her neck twists round or she’ll walk across the screen! (Cookie Swirl C, Ponies of Harmony, MLP, videos on YouTube)

"Back to Ron... he refused to tell me at first not taking his eyes off me in the mirror (Ronnie struggles with eye contact for long usually) and was completely in denial about ever seeing this ugly c***.

"Finally when I told him the silly “person” who made this fake creepy looking creature was in jail with all the other bad guys and that the YouTube police are hunting down all the Momo videos and deleting them, he told me he’d seen it loads of times! (Heart sinks).

"Four weeks ago I was called into his school because he’d said to two children he was going to “stab them” - I was devastated and it’s been dealt with accordingly. (Bare in mind he turned five in January!) (sic).

Read more: Momo challenge: online agency releases vital safety tips for parents and children

"He’s been wetting the bed and he’s been coming into my bedroom early hours because of scary dreams! I am absolutely gutted, I honestly thought my children were quite sheltered. This freak scares me let alone my kids.

"Please tell your kids it's pretend! Even if you think they haven't ever seen this ugly b******, the likelihood is they probably have.

Read more: Terrifying Momo challenge is 'hacking' YouTube Peppa Pig videos

"I only mentioned the name (off the cuff expecting them to be totally confused. As soon as I saw their faces in my rear view mirror I knew they knew!)

National Online Safety released these tips on how to handle the Momo Challenge
National Online Safety released these tips on how to handle the Momo Challenge. Picture: National Online Safety

"I’m just glad I’ve told them it isn’t real, it doesn’t exist and sadly there are some nasty bad people in the world who like to scare children. They know in future to tell me anything.

"I’m not sure if this influenced Ronnie's behaviour at school, his bed wetting and his bad dreams but nearly two weeks of certain apps being uninstalled on their tablets, extreme parental controls activated and YouTube totally banned because of Momo NOT them, Ronnies had more good days at school than bad, hasn’t woke once complaining of a bad dream & has been dry for almost a week.

"We decided to restyle Momo, and now my kids find it hilarious that this stupid c*** is rocking a emoji bow with scientist Goggles!"