She was totally oblivious to the fact that this could happen to her child

"Parents rarely worry about this at sleepovers, but it's one of the biggest risks," an international child safety expert warns.

Nama Winston

2 min read

April 4, 2024 - 2:02PM

Don't just worry about adults at sleepovers

Parenting

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Adam Whittington is an expert in child safety expert, and he has a fresh warning for all parents.

This week, he posted a clip to his TikTok account, captioning it "SLEEPOVERS: don't just concentrate on adults..."

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"It can be a life-changing decision"

Whittington's description on his account reads: "Not here for followers/likes. Here to educate you on reality."

And in his latest clip, he certainly doesn't mince words. Whittington says:

"I just had a conversation with a friend, and she was totally oblivious to the fact that this could happen.

"A lot of people concentrate on adults at sleepovers. [But] the majority of child sexual abuse cases in a sleepover context is done by another child.

"Whether it's a teenager, or a younger child - parents really need to understand who is sleeping at that house, who is visiting that house. It could be friends of friends - you really need to know before you make the decision to allow your child to sleep at somebody else's house.

"Don't just concentrate on the mum and dad, concentrate on the siblings, sibling's friends, cousins - before you make the decision, because it can be life-changing.

"It's just something you need to think about."

Teen's bedroom is adjacent to where the sleepover is being held. Image: supplied

Who is Adam Whittington?

If Whittington's name sounds familiar, it might be because he's the expert who helped Aussie mum Sally Faulkner get her kids out of Lebanon in 2016. So he's been working in high stakes, international child safety for a long time.

Whittington is now the CEO of Project Rescue Children (PRC). Their motto is, “We hunt those who hunt children.”

He also regularly posts about online child safety incidents to his 60k-strong following.

For example, speaking to Kidspot last year on device usage by children, Whittington warned:

"Parents must regularly monitor their kids' devices. Check all devices and recheck periodically.

"Know what they are watching, who they are chatting to, and the apps they use. It's crucial parents understand and become experts on each app their kids use. Know the safety guarding settings each app has and use them.

"For the actual devices, make sure parental safety settings, like GOOGLE’s SafeSearch are turned on. One of the easiest ways to block porn is by activating Google SafeSearch. When activated, Google SafeSearch will filter out explicit content from the search results, restricting kids’ access to them.

"I wouldn’t say turn off the internet completely because kids especially in advanced countries now have their school curriculum on smart devices. Cutting off your kids' internet actually prevents and limits their education. My kids' school lessons are all on smart devices now, even in class."

For more Kidspot stories on sleepovers, see:

My teen's going for a mixed sleepover; I'm worried

She saw a movie at a sleepover, then tried to copy it

My 9yo was given a pill to help her sleep at a sleepover

I let my daughter have a sleepover: never again

For more information on child safety at sleepovers, see raisingchildren.net.au.