St Peter’s School has contacted parents and carers to say it has received reports of children having seen scary images of Momo, which they describe as a ‘possessed-looking chicken lady’, embedded in children’s YouTube videos.
The school said that children had been talking about the character in class and spreading rumours about it.
As a result it asked parents to be vigilant and talk to their children about what they should do if they are worried by something they see online.
In an email to parents, head teacher Sam Dixon said: ‘Some parents have recently reported that their child has seen a scary image of Momo – a possessed-looking chicken lady – embedded in children’s YouTube videos, which has upset them and prevented them from getting to sleep. Children in class have also been talking about this character and spreading rumours about it “hacking” into computers, stealing passwords and making children do “naughty things”. There was some media hype recently about this, but the majority of the rumours were proved to be untrue.’
She added: ‘Please may I remind you that the content of any YouTube videos cannot be guaranteed, and children should not be accessing YouTube or other social media sites, without adult supervision, if they are under 13.
‘Please be aware that there are much worse things on YouTube than this scary image – just be extra vigilant with your child’s online activity and supervise what your young children are watching, whatever it may be. Please also discuss with your child what they should do if they see or hear anything that worries them in the online world, in the same way they would in the real world, and reassure them that, as adults, we do everything we can to keep them safe. We regularly speak to children about online safety and tell them to speak to an adult if they have any worries.’
A spokeswoman for Children, Young People, Education and Skills said: ‘Momo was blocked at the beginning of December on the curriculum network. A communication went to all schools in February, identifying that Momo was a hoax and suggesting that each school deal with individual issues as they occur and, where appropriate, raise awareness with parents.’
Earlier this year schools across the country issued similar warnings about the Momo challenge, which supposedly encouraged children to hurt themselves and others. However, it was later said to have been a hoax, although images of Momo have appeared online.
