What changes
Children this age start playing games with open chat, often without anybody quite deciding that they should. It is rarely a dedicated device and rarely supervised in the way a first phone is, which is exactly why it is the seam.
What the household does
- Every game with an open chat channel identified — most parents cannot name them all
- Chat turned off where it can be, and watched where it cannot
- The tablet on the child lane, not the household lane
- One rule, taught early: nobody nice asks you to keep a secret from your parents
Do this now Teach the tell, not the fear. A child of seven can absolutely learn that “don’t tell your mum” is the signal — and a child who knows the tell will bring it to you.