Shutterstock / bbernard Shutterstock / bbernard / bbernard

LAST MONTH, WE asked your thoughts on the right age for a child to have a smartphone - and over half of you said you’d rather wait until they started secondary school.

Of course, whether or not they have their own phone, the majority of children have some kind of online presence long before they hit second level education.

Just this week, the Department of Education combined forces with the Gardaí to launch an ‘internet safety resource’ aimed at teenagers

‘Be in Ctrl’ combines three lesson plans, an information pack and a Garda talk for schools and has been launched in the wake of the news that Irish children are putting themselves at risk by contacting strangers online.

According to figures released by CyberSafeIreland, the children’s internet safety charity, a worrying one-third of children rarely or never talk to their parents about online safety.

So tell us: Have you ever talked to your kids about internet safety?

Want to win a full pamper day (hair, nails, make-up… the works!) at NeeBa Hair & Beauty? Enter here – and don’t forget to like TheJournal.ie’s Family Magazine on Facebook and Twitter!