Child safety

NO responsible parent could possibly disagree with the findings of the Government-commissioned report into the sexualisation and commercialisation of children. The suggestions of Reg Bailey, chief executive of the Mothers’ Union, are eminently sensible, such as blocking adult content on mobile phones, banning unsuitable advertising posters near schools, marketing children’s clothes separately from adults’ and giving parents software to restrict their children’s access to adult websites.

The problem, as ever, is one of implementation. This is, after all, the fourth report to address the sexualisation of children, yet the problem still persists, principally because voluntary measures have proved worthless while framing effective legislation has been notoriously difficult.

This time, however, given the support that David Cameron is showing for the Bailey findings, there is hope that progress will finally be made. After all, most parents are not asking for much. Indeed, they accept that the principal responsibility for their children’s welfare lies with them.

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What they are looking for, however, is some support in a society where the number and availability of sexual images increases daily, where most advertisers show no compunction in using sex to sell products and where their children’s ability to navigate through this high-tech world of rampant consumerism is rapidly outpacing their own. Over to you, Mr Cameron.