This mum’s story reinforces the need to talk and take an active role in a child’s digital life as she shares her daughter’s battle with self-harm after being cyberbullied.
Giving a child their first smartphone
When her youngest daughter Lily was 10, she wanted a mobile phone and social media accounts. “It wasn’t something I was completely comfortable with, but I agreed because all her friends had accounts, and I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch as they moved to different high schools,” explains Lisa.
Changes in behaviour
At first, everything went well, and Lily enjoyed sharing updates on Instagram and Snapchat. However, over the next 18 months, Lisa noticed that Lily was becoming more withdrawn and irritable. Then, when Lily was 12, her parents discovered that she had been self-harming.
“It was a horrible shock,” says Lisa. “We talked…
