Emily Andre on why she refuses to let her kids go on social media

ok.co.uk:

As a soon-to-be mum of three, Emily Andre has plenty on her plate - and in an exclusive chat with OK! she opens up about one of her child-related worries, cyberbullying and social media.The 34-year-old doctor, who is due to have her third baby with husband Peter Andre this Spring, revealed what she thinks about managing her children's attitudes and opinions of social media, and how she plans to tackle it.

Fortunately, as their youngest children - Theo and Millie - are aged just seven and 10 respectively, the couple haven't had to navigate the subject quite yet, but Emily knows it's only a matter of time. "It’s a difficult one because Theo and Milllie are young enough that I’ve not had to deal with it yet," she told OK!. "But Millie will be in year six next year and a lot of kids in her class have phones already – she doesn’t." She continued: "I’m concerned it might get to the stage where bullying might occur if you don’t have one, even though there’s the worry of cyberbullying.

I’m stuck between wanting to protect them but not excluding them." Emily, who works as a doctor in the NHS, said she isn't "thick-skinned" so steered clear of the social media minefield until much later in life. "Part of me was frightened of what people might say and how it would affect me," she said. "I didn’t get it until I finally had the confidence to go, 'I’m OK if someone says something about me because it’s not a true reflection'." She continued: "Thankfully, since getting social media, I don’t get a lot of nasty things but I know that isn’t always the case.

It does worry me exposing the kids to something I didn’t feel ready to tackle until I was in my thirties." As well as Theo and Millie, the newest arrival to the Andre clan will also be.