Dr Colman Noctor: Giving a child an internet-enabled device is like buying a puppy

The work of keeping children safe online still needs to be carried out by the parents

Picture: iStock

Last month I spent two hours trying to safely set up my children’s Minecraft accounts. I always thought IKEA flat packed items were frustrating and complicated, but they are a doddle compared to this.

As someone who has always spoken openly about the futility of parental controls as a sole mechanism for managing the risks of children’s online usage, the irony of me writing about negotiating the settings on accounts up for my eight and 10 year old is not lost on me.