The Social Life: Parental talk keeps kids safe

Time to talk to your kids about social media.

There comes a time in every parent's life when they must have "that talk".

We're all different and have our preferences but there are some basic details that you must impart to your children.

I'm not talking about the birds and the bees talk, instead one that has just as much impact on your child's lives - social media.

If you don't do social media right it could hurt.

There are age limits on the likes of Facebook, but we all know that just like your first taste of alcohol getting on Facebook is likely to be lower than the legal age.

But how do we keep children safe? It's not like you can stop them from accessing the internet, especially with smartphone capabilities, schools having computer access and homes having wi-fi as a staple.

As adults we have a sense of what is right and wrong, we can generally see through scams.

But your child is most likely not as internet savvy as you, despite being an online generation. According to Facecrooks, 73 per cent of teens aged 12 to 17 use social networking sites, and more than five million Facebook users are under 10.

If you think your child is thinking about checking it out, you need to have that talk. Introducing your children to social media can help open up channels for discussion.

Your children will be more honest about what they do online, and they'll feel more comfortable coming to you with issues.

Facecrooks has a list of dos and don'ts for introducing your kids to social media. The dos include allowing your child to explore, educate them about online threats - such as identity theft, take online safety precautions such as parental controls and block certain websites. Allow them to only have contact with people they know.

Don't let them have unlimited access as this can take time and attention away from the real world, don't forget about mobile devices - make sure there are limitations and install parental control apps.

Keep talking about social media - let them know that you know they are using it and be available to help them.