“Nobody wanted to talk about it. At the time, they said their children would be scared. But I’d rather my child have nightmares because they’re thinking about the dangers of what could happen than be sheltered from it, make a mistake and die.
“It has been really difficult at times, because we wanted to pass this message to younger and younger children.”
Her message remains focused on helping children.
The debate over banning social media for children
LaFave’s comments come as the UK government moves toward tighter restrictions on children’s access to social media.
However, LaFave has long opposed a ban, questioning whether it would really help the underlying problems. Instead, she wants greater attention paid to how children can be taught to navigate the online world safely.
“It’s never going to be 100 percent safe, but what I guess I’m hoping for is a change of culture, and so that we actually look at what children’s needs are,” she said.
