Social media can feel like a minefield for parents when it comes to protecting their children from online dangers – and digital safety is an important issue for the TV presenter and mother of two. Tess Daly.

When GOOD MORNING! catches up with the Strictly Come Dancing host – who has daughters Phoebe, 20, and Amber, 15, with her fellow presenter husband Vernon Kay – she reveals how the couple managed online safety during their children’s adolescence.

Tess, 55, says of her daughters: “They’re actually pretty savvy for their age when it comes to social media and would never respond to anything negative – it’s really not part of their world in line.

“They are wise enough to know that social media is about treating people with respect and kindness, just like you would in real life. We do what we can to point them in the right direction and keep them safe.”

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Tess works alongside tech giant Meta, which has introduced teen accounts to social media platform Instagram – a new online experience for teens, guided by parents. Accounts are automatically private, have a 60-minute time limit, and include a sleep mode that turns off notifications at night.

Here she speaks to GOOD MORNING! about keeping her family safe online – and why she believes kindness is a superpower.

Tess, how do you find parenting teens in the digital age?

“I think kids are a lot more pragmatic than we’ve ever been about social media – it’s sort of second nature. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need of guidelines.

“We’ve always said, ‘You’ll never communicate with someone you haven’t physically met or who isn’t a friend of yours.’ As a parent, it’s about keeping your child safe – and that’s my number one priority for my children.”

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What online security rules do you have at home?

“They were never allowed to make phone calls in their rooms until they were 15, and we have a cutoff time for the youngest, Amber, of 10 p.m. because she has school the next day. We are vigilant about that topic And, like most parents I know, there are no phones at meal times.

“We’ve always limited screen time, but it becomes increasingly difficult when your child socializes a lot online.

“My daughter didn’t have access to Snapchat until she was 13; if she didn’t have it, she literally wouldn’t be able to communicate with her peers because that’s how they organize their social plans.

“Phoebe, our oldest, stayed private on Instagram until she was 17 or 18. We think kids should be young adults before they go public on social media. Because before that, they’re still have children.”

Tell us about Instagram’s new teen accounts…

“Anything that helps keep teens safe online is a boon because as parents we are concerned. Our children have access to social media and we want to regulate that.

“But it’s not necessarily very practical to go into their room every hour and check who they’re talking to and for how long.

“So the new Teen Account settings introduced by Meta are really useful and quite reassuring for parents. They help regulate the time your teen spends online – it automatically turns off between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.”

© James Veysey/Shutterstock

How do you think people can be kinder online?

“I think your benchmark has to be, ‘We have to treat people the way we want to be treated.’ If you are a kind, civilized, decent human being, why would you be mean or nasty online? Every comment is there for posterity and represents who you are.

“Can you imagine if we were all nice to each other – what a better world it would be.”

It’s World Kindness Day, November 13. Who is the kindest person in your life and why?

“My mother is the sweetest, most positive person I have ever been lucky enough to spend time in company with. I grew up with that and I would like to think that it rubs off on you. Kindness is a great power.

“People can be rude to you in a store, but you don’t know what they had to deal with that day. When in doubt, treat everyone you can with kindness.”

To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to receive the magazine free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple Or Google applications.