An Australian mother’s heartbreaking discovery on her 12-year-old daughter’s phone

An Australian mother has made a desperate plea after recalling the devastating moment she found a disturbing message from a classmate on her 12-year-old daughter’s mobile phone.

The Queensland mother had recently allowed her high school-aged daughter to have the phone and a Snapchat account on the condition that she could access the device at any time.

But nothing could prepare her for the sickening discovery as she scrolled through her daughter’s Snapchat account.

“This is exactly why we’re not friends you fat oversized bitch.” “When you think everyone loves you but honestly everyone wishes you were dead,” another girl’s message read.

Her daughter’s father had committed suicide a month earlier.

An Australian mother has urged parents to closely monitor their children’s mobile phone and online activities for cyberbullying (stock image)

The mother was scrolling through her daughter’s phone when she came across a disturbing Snapchat message from a classmate

The mother has spoken out about the ordeal with a desperate plea to her parents.

“Parents should be made aware to some extent about what their children say or share online,” she posted on Facebook.

“Please, please, please check your loved ones’ phones to make sure everything is OK and that there is open dialogue and boundaries.”

She was also worried that the news wouldn’t upset her daughter.

“It turned out that this sort of thing was so common in her age group,” the mother said Yahoo News Australia.

“It’s a non-event, so to speak, and it didn’t bother them as much as I think it should have.”

The mother has since contacted the school, which has assured that it is taking the incident seriously

“Because it happened on personal devices and outside of school, they are not bound by any code of conduct. However, they are very determined to eradicate it and are ready to do their utmost to put an end to this behavior,” she added

“I think you need to know your child and who they associate with.” “I really believe it starts at home,” she said. “I think it starts with the parents and the environment a child is in.”

At the beginning of the year, around 230 cyberbullying complaints were reported to eSafety in one month

eSafety Australia is urging parents and carers to talk to their children about online safety and set boundaries after a recent rise in cyberbullying among teenagers.

The independent regulator recently revealed that complaints of serious cyberbullying among 14-year-olds more than tripled in 2022 compared to before the pandemic.

In 2019, eSafety received just over 200 complaints from children aged 8 to 13, increasing to almost 740 in 2022.

May this year was also the most reported month since eSafety’s cyberbullying crackdown began eight years ago.

Of the 230 complaints reported to eSafety in May alone, about half involved children ages 8 to 13.

The most common complaints included nasty comments, offensive images or videos, and fake accounts

Parents and carers are urged to set boundaries to help their children avoid potential harm, and to show interest in the games they play online and the profiles they follow on social media.

If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

The mother reported the incident to her daughter’s school, which is handling the matter