Parents, Here’s the Part Nobody Prepared Us ForOnce upon a time, our biggest worries were things like if someone stole their lunch money. Now? W
Parents, Here’s the Part Nobody Prepared Us For
Photo by geralt
Once upon a time, our biggest worries were things like if someone stole their lunch money.
Now?
We have to worry about someone stealing their identity.
We have to worry about a child being punished for images they never created.
We have to worry about strangers fabricating sexual content of our daughters — or our sons — and passing it around like entertainment.
The battlefield moved, and nobody sent parents the memo.
AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material — A New Threat
Organizations working on child-protection show that AI isn’t just being used to manipulate adult images — but to generate synthetic child sexual abuse imagery (CSAM), including deepfakes of minors. Thorn+2Institute for Family Studies+2
Because the images can seem hyper-realistic, the harm isn’t just reputational — these become part of the archive of exploitation that can follow a child for life. Thorn+1
What makes this especially terrifying: unlike traditional abuse, no “real event” must happen. Photos or social media images can be taken, manipulated with AI, then disseminated — meaning any child with photos online becomes vulnerable.
Deepfakes Don’t Just Hurt Reputations — They Damage Souls
A child’s sense of self is fragile. One image can undo it.
When a young person sees a fake image of themselves in a sexual act,
it doesn’t matter whether it’s real —
their nervous system reacts as if they were violated. Because they are.
Their spirit wonders why adults don’t understand.
That is trauma.
And too many children are now walking into classrooms carrying trauma they cannot explain with words.
National Data — Schools Reporting Deepfake Bullying Incidents Is Growing
A 2025 survey of 957 K–12 school principals (via the RAND Corporation American School Leader Panel) found that about 1 in 5 middle- and high-schools reported at least one incident of bullying involving AI-generated deepfakes in the 2023–2024 or 2024–2025 school years. RAND Corporation
In high schools, 22% of principals reported such cases; in middle schools, 20%. RAND Corporation
Why this matters: These are not just isolated scandals — deepfake abuse is becoming part of school life for many young people across the country.
Why This Feels Different
Because it is different.
Rumors used to die.
Deepfakes circulate forever.Bullying used to require proximity.
Deepfakes don’t need to know your child’s name.Harm used to have evidence.
Deepfakes create the evidence.
We are dealing with something our laws haven’t caught up to, our schools can’t handle, and our children can’t outrun.
Global Trend: Deepfake Pornography of Minors — A Growing Crisis
Research and media coverage show that deepfake pornography is increasingly targeting minors worldwide — not as a fringe problem, but one rising fast because creation tools are easy to use and widely accessible. Institute for Family Studies+2European Parliament+2
Often, the “source photo” is simply a school portrait, social-media selfie, or any publicly posted image — making “any kid with a phone or social media account vulnerable.” European Parliament+2Institute for Family Studies+2
Because these images are synthetic, they don’t always leave obvious fingerprints; victims can experience real trauma, identity violation, and long-term emotional damage — even if no “real event” ever occurred. SIPA Institute of Global Politics+2National Education Association+2
Why this matters: This isn’t just localized harassment. It’s a global crisis. The tools to create deepfake sexual content of minors are cheap and easy — and that means every child is potentially at risk.
Parents Are Not Helpless — But The Alarm Clock is Going Off
Our children need more than love right now.
They need adults who can:
✔ talk openly about consent and digital boundaries,
✔ teach them that images can be falsified,
✔ believe them when they say something feels wrong,
✔ demand policies that protect victims, not perpetrators,
✔ advocate for consequences when someone uses tech as a weapon.
You don’t have to be a tech expert.
You just have to be present — and unwilling to ignore the truth.
A Tender Warning
If we don’t guide our children through this, someone else will.
Someone who doesn’t love them.
Someone who doesn’t care if their life is broken.
Someone who sees their face as raw material for profit, entertainment, cruelty, or control.
We cannot let a generation of children grow up believing their identity can be taken at any moment.
The Closing Truth
The digital line has moved.
Childhood has changed.
And while we may not have chosen this moment, we are the ones raising children inside it. We are the guardians of their names, their faces, their dignity, and the stories they will one day tell about how we showed up for them.
Our children are not powerless —
but they cannot fight what we refuse to see.
Let this be the moment we look the future square in the eye and say:
You will not take our children’s innocence without a fight.