Time to Read: Editor’s Note: This article contains disturbing content.
Child-friendly apps like TikTok, YouTube and Roblox are haunted by a creepy character named Huggy Wuggy.
Warning statements issued by the police force have further inflated the panic surrounding Huggy Wuggy
On 1st April 2022, Dorset Police issued a warning statement on the matter among reports that young students had been exposed to “terrifying clips” of Huggy Wuggy “singing songs about murder”. According to Dorset Live, a Dorset Police spokesman said;
“The blue bear-like character has long arms and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Set in an abandoned toy factory, Huggy is a game villain who chases players from vents, unreachable places. Videos of the game are available to watch on YouTube, with other clips dedicated to Huggy in the songs.
Huggy Wuggy helps children normalize and process their fears
While it sounds threatening, Huggy Wuggy could very well help children normalize very real fears of being small and essentially helpless in a big scary world.
Bringing monsters to life through play helps children process the ‘monsters’ in their daily lives, whether it’s what lurks under the bed in their imagination or a growing sense of their own mortality.
Don’t rely on parental controls.
It would be nice if we could just click on a setting and never have to worry about what our kids see, but that’s not the case. Make full use of all privacy settings and network nannies you have access to, but do not rely on them. Unscrupulous people are always looking for a way around parental controls, and it’s hard for technology to keep up with them.
I know this is something I repeat often, however, open conversations with your child about what they are watching, playing or talking about at school is the most important thing you can do to keep your child safe and happy . Whatever new threat arises, talking to your kids can nip threats in the bud and minimize potential harm before it becomes a reality. I bolded and italicized the word “with” because it’s not just about talking to your kids or lecturing them about the dangers of this or that. Nor is it about passively listening as your child talks endlessly about things that don’t seem like a big deal. The key is to interact with each other so you both feel heard, understood, and accepted.