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Answered by our panel of experts:

There's always a risk with talking to someone you don't know at first - and while there's a thrill and enjoyment in making new friends, there's an added small risk online that adults can pretend to be young people. Adults who want to find young people know where to go.

Make sure your children know that. Make sure they also know that these risks can be minimised by taking some practical precautions. Most children may never encounter such individuals, but nonetheless, it is good to speak to them about sexual grooming, and how that could work, especially as your child is in secondary school.

Help them to reflect on and develop good values and responsible behaviour by talking about these issues regularly as part of life, and keep up to date with all the services and gadgets that they use, and the necessary privacy settings they can use. Help them to reflect on the difference between what may be ok and not ok to share online.

Have some rules about what is never OK to do on line, like giving out their address or phone number or location. For younger children make sure that they are supervised, that you know all their friends, and that they do not upload or send any photos without your consent. Just like you like to know where they are going and what they are doing and who they are with in the real world - make it the same online.Ìý For instance do you know which chat services they use and how they work?

Remember that risk does not automatically mean harm, so keep a balanced perspective. There are many organisations that provide useful advice and guidance. For example Childnet's for parents, CEOP's Ìý as well as the .

Trust your instincts: if they are telling you about someone or something they are doing online or even about what a 'friend' might be doing, follow it up with themÌý - andÌý keep going till you satisfy yourself its ok.

If you are a parent and are worried about your teen or child over-sharing online visit the Share Take Care: Ask an expert page to read the advice our panel of experts gave other parents.

Visit the Share Take Care website for more information on help and support for parents.