Tess Daly has revealed she has strict rules for keeping her daughters safe.
The Strictly Come Dancing host is mum to Phoebe, 20, and 15-year-old Amber, who she shares with her radio and TV presenter husband of 21 years, Vernon Kay. But while her kids have grown up with social media, Tess says her kids weren't allowed mobile phones until they were young teenagers.
And even then, the 55-year-old banned phones from bedrooms and at the dinner table and limited the girls' screen time. And when it comes to social media apps, Phoebe and Amber were only allowed to use them once they had reached a certain age, or made to use privacy settings so their accounts weren't public.
She said: "I think kids are a lot more pragmatic about social media than we ever were – it's sort of second nature. But that doesn't mean they don't need guidelines. We've always been big on: 'You will never communicate with somebody you haven't physically met, or who isn't a friend of yours.' As a parent, it's about keeping your child safe – and that is my number one priority for my kids."
Image:
Instagram)She told HELLO! magazine: "They were never allowed phones in their bedrooms until they were 15, and we have a cut-off time for the youngest, Amber, at 10pm, because she's got school the next day. We're vigilant about that. And - like most parents I know - there are no phones as meal times.
"We've always limited screen time, but it becomes increasingly challenging when your child socialises online a lot. My daughter wasn't allowed Snapchat until she was 13. If she didn't have it, she literally would not be able to communicate with her peers - because that's how they arrange their social plans.
"Phoebe, our eldest, was private on Instagram until she was 17 or 18. We believe children should be young adults before they become public on social media, because before that, they're still kids."
Though her daughters 'are quite savvy for their age about social media', Tess has always drilled it into them that they shouldn't respond to anything negative online to avoid getting into disputes with trolls. And also to protect her kids from any negative comments that might be directed at them.
She said they are 'wise enough' to know that social media is about 'treating people with respect and kindness' - just as you would do if you met them in real life, adding her and Vernon 'do what they can to point them in the right direction and keep them safe.'
With the news Instagram has recently introduced new teen accounts as part of its safety measures to keep youngsters safe online, Tess said that anything to help keep teenage kids safer online is a 'godsend'.
Under the new rules, teens can use the app with restrictions imposed by their parents. This includes automatically private accounts, sleep mode that mutes notifications at night and time limits which means the app shuts off at whatever time you have set it to and cannot be used, even if your child wanted to.
Tess added: "It's not necessarily practical to go into their bedroom on an hourly basis and check who they're talking to and for how long. So the new Teen Account settings are really useful and quite reassuring for parents. They help regulate the amount of time your teen spends online - it shuts off automatically between 10am and 7am."
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTubeand Threads
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us atwebcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033
English (US) ·