Modern parents need to realise that the minute their children have access to the internet, they’re going to come across content that they shouldn’t see. They will be exposed to things that they aren’t mentally and emotionally equipped to deal with. With this rather sobering fact in mind, Sarah Hoffman, director at The Digital Law Company, advises that parents shouldn’t just give their child a smartphone and leave them to do whatever they please. “It’s a bit like handing them a loaded gun. Parents have to play an active role in their child’s online life; they have to be involved.”

According to security awareness coordinator for DRS, Robyn Bartlett, being a part of your child’s online life is about building a relationship based on trust and understanding. Don’t ban your children from using the internet because then they’ll just find alternate ways to get online when you’re not looking. Instead, make sure they know that they can come to you and talk to you if they need to. And if you do opt to put a monitoring app on your child’s phone, be upfront about it, she adds. “Explain to them why you’re doing it and what you will and won’t be able to view,” Bartlett says, noting that most of these applications are designed to pick up certain key words using algorithms and then alert parents accordingly.