Why NJ parents should be concerned about this out-of-state gaming incident

It's the kind of stories that pop up every now and then that involve online applications, games, and chats. The ones where our kids are able to speak with individuals from all over that are also playing the game or on the app.

Most of the time, this type of thing is harmless. But there are those rare instances that something more will happen.

READ MORE: Why new laws are needed to address youth texting and biking in NJ

This particular incident I'm about to mention did not happen in New Jersey, nor did it lead to any harm happening to the two kids that this happened to.

However, As a parent with two kids myself, I feel that it's important we're all aware of these kind of things, because it could also happen here in our home state.

Roblox and chats

Both my twin sons play Roblox and they love it. And I love watching them play as well, so I'm in no way saying don't let your kids play the game. I am, however, saying to be aware of who they chat with.

As I mentioned above, this story I'm going to mention did not occur in New Jersey, but it's important that we're still aware that this can happen here. It's about two sisters, both minors, that met someone on the gaming platform and ended up traveling with a stranger they met on the game.

Fortunately, the sisters were found and the 19 year old who picked them up was charged for kidnapping. It doesn't always end up that way, but still a scary incident nonetheless.

That's just a very short brief about the story, but you can read more about that particular incident here.

Why it matter in New Jersey

As a parent of grade school kids in New Jersey, I can't help but be concerned about something like that happening here. We did have an incident already happen in New Jersey this year, which is why I wanted to also highlight this story for my fellow parents who also have kids playing online games (Erin Vogt has more on that recent New Jersey incident here).

Please stay alert with who our kids are talking to on these games. Not saying something like this will happen again here in the future, but you never know with the creeps that do exist among the online gaming community.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.