What is the plan when a group chat renames my child with an insult? 

Parenting Perspective 

When your child’s name is twisted into a cruel nickname within a group chat, it feels less like simple teasing and more like a public betrayal. Unlike playground jokes that fade from memory, digital humiliation lingers. Every message tagged with that name reopens the wound. As a parent, your role is to respond with calm strength, protecting your child’s dignity, guiding them through the emotional fallout, and ensuring the behaviour is addressed without causing further harm. 

Begin with Calm Reassurance 

When your child tells you what has happened, your first response is the most critical. Sit beside them, remain composed, and say: 

• ‘You have done nothing to deserve this.’ 

• ‘We will take care of it together.’ 

Avoid minimising the situation with comments like, ‘It is just online.’ To your child, the experience feels intensely personal and public. Your calm validation restores a sense of safety at a moment when they feel most exposed. 

Recognise the Depth of the Hurt 

An insulting nickname is not just a joke; it is an attack on a child’s identity. For children, their name carries their self-worth, sense of belonging, and pride. When peers turn it into a tool for mockery, the pain is layered with social rejection and a loss of respect. Acknowledge this openly: ‘This was not humour; it was meant to hurt, and that is not okay.’ Recognising the emotional truth helps your child feel seen, not silenced. 

Gather Facts and Document Quietly 

Ask your child to explain what happened and who was involved, but do so without interrogation or blame. Take screenshots or save messages as evidence, but do not circulate them. Keeping clear records will allow you to act wisely rather than reacting impulsively. 

Engage with Authority with Dignity 

If this occurred in a school-related group, contact the class teacher or head of year with calm professionalism. Present the facts, not your emotions: ‘My child’s name was changed in a class group to something insulting, and it has affected their sense of safety.’ Most schools now treat online bullying as an extension of in-school conduct and will have a digital safety policy. 

If it is a non-school group, you may need to reach out privately to the group administrator or the parents of the children involved. Avoid hostility; instead, state clearly that the nickname must be removed and that respectful behaviour must be restored. 

Rebuild Confidence and Inner Strength 

At home, your focus should be on healing the emotional impact. Avoid over-discussing the group or the offenders. Instead, redirect the message: ‘They cannot define you. Your name and your worth come from Allah Almighty.’ Involve your child in family routines, shared laughter, and offline connections. Belonging at home can repair the fractures caused by rejection online. 

Guide Them to Respond with Dignity 

If your child chooses to respond within the chat, help them to use calm, assertive language: 

• ‘That name is not okay. Please use my real name.’ 

• ‘You know that is unkind.’ 

These brief, steady words show strength without aggression. If the group refuses to stop, encourage your child to leave. Walking away from cruelty is not weakness; it is moral leadership. 

By handling this moment with calm authority, you teach your child that respect is not something to be begged for, but something to be modelled and protected. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam honours every believer’s name, dignity, and identity. To rename someone mockingly or to degrade their honour is a grave act, condemned by both the noble Quran and the Sunnah. When your child faces such humiliation, the best response is not revenge but sabr (steadfast patience) and izzah (dignified strength), knowing that Allah Almighty Himself defends the honour of those who are wronged. 

The Honour of Names in the Noble Quran 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Hujuraat (49), Verse 11: 

‘…And do not insult each other; and do not call each other by (offensive) nicknames; how bad is it to be called by nefarious names after the attainment of faith…’ 

This verse explicitly forbids the act that your child has suffered. It reminds us that using nicknames to hurt others is not a form of humour, but an act of disobedience. Teaching this verse to your child helps to reframe the event: the insult is not a reflection of their worth, but of the speaker’s distance from faith and good manners. 

The Prophet’s ﷺ Teaching on Verbal Harm 

It is recorded in Jami Tirmidhi, Hadith 2635, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Insulting a Muslim is wickedness and fighting him is disbelief.’ 

This hadith teaches us that mockery and insults are not harmless; they are a form of moral corruption. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ linked words of humiliation to the decay of faith itself. When you remind your child of this, you help them to see that silence and self-respect are not signs of weakness, but reflections of prophetic character. 

When a group chat mocks your child by changing their name, it is not merely an issue of technology; it is a test of moral and emotional courage. By guiding them with calmness, protecting their dignity, and anchoring their confidence in faith, you can turn a moment of shame into one of resilience. 

Your child will learn that their identity cannot be rewritten by cruelty, that their worth is safe in the sight of Allah, and that calm strength can silence ignorance far more effectively than retaliation ever could. 

In time, this experience can become a defining lesson: that honour is not given by the words of people, but is guarded by one’s faith, manners, and unwavering dignity before Allah Almighty.