What SouthCoast Parents Should Know About ‘Huggy Wuggy’ Games

A horror video game character has become the inspiration for some extremely aggressive recess play and schools are showing their concerns.

There have already been several parent groups across the country that have spoken out about this creepy character from the survival video game "Poppy Playtime," which debuted last fall.

Huggy Wuggy, a villain from the game, stands 10 feet tall, has several rows of sharp teeth in his fuzzy, blue head, and hugs you until you die.

Seems kids across the country have been inspired by Huggy Wuggy to essentially squeeze their friends on the playground so hard it hurts while whispering vulgar things about killing them in their ears. Not at all how I would want my daughter playing at school -- or anywhere else for that matter.

I had no idea this character or this video game existed until I received an email from my daughter's school this week telling parents about the upsetting game and how the younger students were being affected. Her school is no longer allowing kids to discuss, depict or draw Huggy Wuggy in any way and, after seeing this video, I am glad about that.

If your kids have yet to hear about this terrible game, great. I'd say work to keep it that way. "Poppy Playtime" is a video game designed to introduce younger audiences to the genre of horror and creators say it's for ages 8 and up. Personally, I think 8 is way too young to watch or play horror anything.

But though the video game Huggy Wuggy comes from may not be anything your child plays at home, that doesn't mean they aren't finding videos about Huggy Wuggy on YouTube.

With the cute name and fuzzy appearance, Huggy Wuggy videos can easily slip through the content screenings YouTube sets up and lead to very young children watching this disturbing character do very inappropriate things.

Once my daughter's school made me aware this thing was out there I did a little digging and learned that Huggy Wuggy has been upsetting children across the globe. His seemingly harmless appearance before opening his mouth with razor-sharp teeth and his hurtful hugs can be very confusing for younger kids to process.

I know as parents there is a lot to be aware of out in the world when it comes to our kids, so add this creepy character to your list of things to watch out for online. 

Parenting experts say viral trends like these mean we as parents need to talk more openly with our children. Asking open-ended questions to get their thoughts on the game can help lead to conversations about their concerns and help them understand what they are seeing.