Generally speaking, previous generations of parents were supported by broadly shared codes of behaviour when bringing up their children. Since the advent of the online world, it is as if every corner of the home were filled with enticing, whispering voices, many of them antithetical to parents’ ethical beliefs.

Children’s advocates have rightly pointed to the many benefits of online life, including opportunities to get involved in communities centred on a specific interest, to express musical or artistic talent, or just to hang out online. But just as being out in nature is good for us, no one suggests that midnight strolls in public parks frequented by drug dealers are the optimal way to get fresh air.

This generation of parents has had to combat a multibillion euro industry predicated on relentlessly capturing their children’s attention. The tech giants actively resist every attempt to legislate for safety measures. As Ursula von der Leyen said in July, when it comes to road safety, we don’t ask children to design their own seat belts or parents to install airbags. We legislate for car manufacturers to provide them.

The EU Kids Act announced this week aims to support parents trying to battle the harms of excessive time spent online. It does not absolve parents of responsibility for having the difficult conversations or taking the phone away overnight, much less modelling self-control in their own phone use. But it does attempt to redress some of the power imbalance.

‘It is a romantic........

© The Irish Times