A child safety expert and former police officer has warned parents of three things they should never let their youngsters do - including going on sleepovers. Kristi, who used to be a child abuse detective, now posts regular videos giving advice on child safety to parents.
Posting under the name @tiktokcop81 on TikTok, she recently shared a video titled: "3 things I would never do after being a child abuse detective." She introduced herself and went on to explain those three tips, the Sun reports.
She told her 26,000 followers: "Hi, my name's Kristi. I was a child abuse detective and a specialist child interviewer, so I interviewed children who had been abused."
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Kristi, who worked as a police officer for ten years, then went on to share her three tips, reports Coventry Live. She said: "Number one is blindly trust anyone."
She explained that it is often easy to trust others with your kids, but that parents should think carefully. She added: "I just think that we need to remember that our children's safety is our responsibility to look after them.
"We can't just trust anyone – even if nothing happened to you with that person as a child, unfortunately it doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen to your child." She then shared her second tip - never let young kids attend sleepovers at someone else's home.
She said: "Again, children are vulnerable. They don't always have the language, the skills or the confidence to help themselves or to get help if something happens."
This is why Kristi believes "sleepovers are a no no until children get older". She then explained her third piece of advice, which was regarding kids' use of the internet on devices like iPads.
She said if children are able to go online unsupervised, they could be exposed to things they shouldn't be, bullied or, in some cases, even groomed. She explained: "Number three is allowing your child unrestricted, unsupervised access to the internet.
"We know this, but yet we use it as a babysitting device. I'm not saying don't give them access, I'm saying restrict it and supervise it.
"It should never be a free for all. For young children under eight to 10-years-old, they should be sitting in the lounge room with parents around. They shouldn't be on their devices in their room."
What other things should parents not allow their children do? Have your say in the comments section below.
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