Web experts urge parents to ‘lead children by the hand’ on social media sites

PARENTS SHOULD get to grips with social media and help their children open up about online bullying, campaigners say.

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos urged parents to learn how to navigate Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and guide children “by the hand” until they are old enough to manage alone.

It comes as research by safety group Internet Matters found parents are more worried about cyber bullying than children being bullied face-to-face.

Dr Papadopoulos, an ambassador for the Internet Matters campaign, stressed that parents must “understand the platforms” children are interacting on.

She added: “This idea that, ‘I don’t get Instagram’ or ‘I don’t get Snapchat’... If your kid is on it, get it. Understand it. Understand the way that they might engage on it and through that, discuss with them what the potential issues may be. Then eventually, as they become more competent, as they get older, then you can put them down, hold them by the hand, and eventually let go.”

The study showed that one in five parents said their child had received “cruel comments” online, the survey of 2,000 adults with children aged between nine and 16 found.

Almost two thirds were concerned about their child being targeted on social media sites, while 46 per cent were worried about face-to-face bullying.

Most parents said bullying over body image was their top concern, with 17.4 per cent of boys and 15.7 per cent of girls being teased about the way they look.

But Dr Papadopoulos she warned against restricting children’s access to the internet, saying it could put them off opening up about the issue of bullying.

Meanwhile, a teenager has been interviewed by police relating to posts on social media about terminally ill Bradley Lowery. Northumbria Police said officers were “made aware” of messages relating to the youngster on Friday and a 15-year-old boy has now been interviewed under caution.

Bradley has been battling neuroblastoma, and has appeared as Sunderland’s mascot several times this year, as well as for Everton, and in Jermain Defoe’s England comeback match at Wembley, in which the Sunderland star scored.

The youngster, who is from Blackhall, County Durham, celebrated his sixth birthday with Defoe and more than 250 family and friends on Friday evening.