You should be having a discussion about pornography and help them process the images they will more than likely see. And this includes the expectations of both boys and girls when it comes to relationships. If using social media early, these conversations will need to happen earlier. Because every social network has the ability to see porn if one knows how to look, or by inadvertently being sent it by people they know or people they don’t know.

They should be learning the skills to deal with cyberbullying, with digital drama, with possible exclusion and comparison. They will need to be building some resilience to the odd nasty comment and know how to deal with someone’s anger and prejudice. They will need the skills to deal with a group chat gone wrong.

They should know how to block and report and deal with unwanted attention.

They should have some control over the time spent online and be sure to have time for the other important pursuits they need to fit in to their day.

They should be aware of what they are sharing. Who they are sharing things with. What happens to the data and images they share.

They will need good mentoring and role modelling about what it means to be in control of their social network feeds. To be shown how to be intentional about who they are interacting with and why, to be mindful of what they are consuming and to be aware of the effects their social media feeds have on their own social and emotional wellbeing.

They will continue to educate the kids on the very best practices. We need to know they will be safe and even thrive, whenever and wherever they find themselves online. And let’s continue to empower parents to become educated, to communicate and to play the crucial role in helping their kids be the very best they can be.