'I never expected my son to fall into the manosphere. Then he made one comment.'

Rachel Parker was having a normal conversation with her 11-year-old son when he said something that stopped her in her tracks.

"Women are gold diggers, anyway."

Her son was a well-rounded boy, and they shared a respectful relationship. Immediately, she called her son on what it was: a misogynistic, baseless generalisation.

"We had the conversation right away. It was then I learned about the red pill stuff," Rachel told Mamamia.

Watch a snippet of Rachel talking about the signs her son was being red-pilled. Post continues below.

You might've heard the term in discussions about Netflix's Adolesence, which follows the chilling story of 13-year-old Jamie after he is arrested on suspicion of murdering his classmate, Katie, who rejected him.

The show reflects how harmful misogynistic content is shaping the way young boys view women and girls.

This "red pill" content comes from the radicalised online community known as the "manosphere", where Andrew Tate hangs out. The term is based on a concept from the film The Matrix where the red pill is taken to 'awaken' a person to the harsh truths of the world. The manosphere uses it as an excuse for their bigoted ideology.

Young boys stumble across this content seeking community and validation and get sucked into toxic echo chambers — often without their parents' knowledge.

Three years ago, Rachel was among those parents completely unaware.

Despite having protective controls on his phone, "I still didn't know that's what was growing in his mind."

"He said the reason he bought into it anyway was the videos that were on his feed… were quite palatable at first," she said in a TikTok.

"He said, 'It really made sense to me. I could really identify with it.' Then it got a little bit darker … but 'I already trust these men'."

"This ideology is a seed and it gets planted in a kid's head. Over time, it festers," Rachel warned.

"It will fundamentally change the trajectory of your child's life if you do not get it out root and stem."

Rachel shares advice for parents on how to de-radicalise their children on her TikTok. Image: TikTok/rchlprkr

Once she spotted the red flags, Rachel acted quickly. She began watching the videos with her son and discussing them.

"It's an open dialogue where I tried to guide the conversation without it turning into a lecture, and let him work out the truth behind the messaging," she told Mamamia.

His response was initially defensive, but she kept the conversations casual, asking what he was watching and which parts he believed. Over time, she asked deeper questions, helping unravel beliefs that contradicted his real-life experiences with women.

Rachel's son wasn't deep in the manosphere, but he made comments such as "women need to respect their bodies" and statements about body count — something he didn't even fully understand.

She encouraged him to ask: "Who was this made for? What do they gain from this? If they said this about my mum/cousin/auntie, would I still find it amusing?"

Now, she hopes her son has the skills to think critically about such content if he comes across it in the future.

She stressed how we need to connect with our sons before it's too late.

"We assume that because our boys are in the house and they're quiet and they're behaving, that they're doing good, that they're alright," she said in her video.

"That's not the case. Anything that has your child's attention like that is something you need to be aware of."

Her advice to worried parents? Tackle it head-on but stay calm.

"Nurture a trusting and safe space for them to admit what they've been hearing," she said.

"From working in youth justice, I've seen that challenging beliefs and confronting them in an abrupt way doesn't always have the desired effect. In fact, it can do quite the opposite. They can lie to cover up what they're choosing to believe just so you'll stop getting on at them, which doesn't solve the issue, it just delays it."

You can find Rachel here for more advice about deradicalising your children.

Feature image: TikTok/rchlprker, Netflix.