Maureen Waititu warns parents about dark content hiding behind children’s online games
By Paulette Mboga, September 29, 2026Content creator Maureen Waititu has warned parents about the dangers children may face online, urging them to pay close attention to the content their children interact with, even when it appears innocent.
Waititu said parents can sometimes see colourful cartoons and assume that their children are simply watching harmless content. She explained that this can lead parents to look away without checking what else their children may be exposed to online.
“As parents, when we just check out our kids’ online interactions and only see the colourful cartoons, we look away thinking that it’s just any other innocent content, and that’s where we go wrong because that’s where the evil hides,” Maureen Waititu said on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
She urged parents to have open conversations with their children about cyber safety. Waititu said keeping children away from the online world may not be possible, making it important for parents to talk to them about staying safe.
“Please, I beg you parents, be having open conversations with your kids about cyber safety because no matter how much you may attempt to keep them away from it, it is not going anywhere,” Waititu said.
Waititu stressed the need for parents to remain alert about what their children are doing online. She said parents should not assume that content is safe simply because it looks colourful or is presented as a game.
Parents urged to supervise online activity
Waititu described the online world as a difficult space for children and asked parents to take an active role in supervising their online interactions. She encouraged parents to regularly check what their children are engaging with.
“Be vigilant. Please be vigilant,” Maureen Waititu said.
She further urged parents to supervise their children instead of leaving them to navigate online spaces without checking what they are seeing. Waititu said parents should make an effort to know the type of content their children are interacting with.
“The online world is a scary, scary world for kids. Please, please parents, I’ll hold your hand when I tell you this, please please supervise or check in with what your kids are interacting with online,” Waititu said.
Waititu also warned that content can appear harmless while exposing children to darker material. She said an online game that looks innocent could potentially lead children to content that she believes is specifically designed to expose them to harmful spaces and people.