Check how they are now
Ask what happened, who may be involved and whether they feel safe at school or elsewhere. If there is an immediate threat, move to urgent help rather than trying to manage it only inside the app.
BASTIONHOST / COMMENTS, BULLYING & REPORTING
COMMENTS, BULLYING & REPORTING
Protect the child before you deal with the comment.
A cruel message can feel enormous on a small screen. Start with the child, keep useful evidence, use the platform controls and bring in the school or a specialist service when the behaviour needs more than a block button.
START HERE
Set the boundary before you test it.
The first response shapes whether the child tells you next time. Slow down, listen and separate the child's safety from the urge to confront the other account immediately.
Keep what is useful
Record the account name, date, platform and context. Take screenshots where appropriate, but do not save or forward sexual images of anyone under 18.
Choose the right route
Block and report on the platform. If pupils are involved, the school may need to know. Use specialist reporting services for harmful content, sexual contact or serious threats.
PRACTICAL SETUP
Work through the real account and device.
Do not rely on what a parent dashboard appears to show. Apply the control, then check the result while signed in as the child.
Listen before taking the device
Ask the child to show you at their pace. Avoid promising a particular outcome and do not begin with why they were on the app or why they replied.
Check for immediate risk
Look for threats, doxxing, pressure to meet, sexual contact, self-harm concerns or bullying that also happens offline. These signs need more than a routine platform report.
Record the account and context
Keep usernames, links, dates and a short note of what happened. Screenshots can help when content may disappear. Do not repeatedly show the child the hurtful material.
Block and report through the service
Use the reason that best matches the behaviour. Blocking can stop direct contact, while reporting gives the service a chance to review the account or content.
Tighten the audience without blaming the child
Review who can comment, message, tag or add the child. Remove followers you cannot place and make the account private where that suits the child's age and use.
Involve the school when the people are connected
If the behaviour involves pupils or affects school life, contact the school's safeguarding or pastoral route with a calm summary and the evidence you have kept.
Return to the child after the report
Check sleep, school, friendships and whether new accounts have appeared. Agree what happens next and make clear that telling was the right decision.
TEN-MINUTE TEST
Check what your child actually sees.
- The child knows they will be listened to before access is discussed
- You can find block and report on the main services they use
- Privacy settings limit comments and messages as intended
- You know the school's safeguarding or pastoral contact route
- The child can name another trusted adult if you are unavailable
- You know where to find specialist UK reporting help
The family rule
Do not fight the comment alone. Save what is safe to keep, block the account and tell a trusted grown-up. You will not be blamed for bringing the problem to us.
What the settings cannot promise
Blocking one account may not stop contact through a new account or another service. A platform report is not an emergency response. Use the UK help directory when there are threats, sexual content, pressure to meet, self-harm concerns or immediate danger.
Current official instructionsChildline advice on bullying and cyberbullying ↗CEOP advice on reporting an incident ↗
Written by Kevin Turnbull. Last reviewed 21 August 2026. Services, settings and menu names change. Check the current official instructions while applying this guide. This is practical parent-to-parent guidance, not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Keep telling safer than silence.
The technical controls matter, but the most useful safeguard is a child who believes they can show you a mistake or a cruel message without losing your support.
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