CARI: Parents increasingly concerned by children's sexualised behaviour
The number of parents contacting the Children At Risk in Ireland (CARI) helpline with concerns about their young child's sexualised behaviour increased by 57% last year.
CARI's annual report for 2011 shows that 212 calls were made regarding the sexualisation of children under the age of 12 - up from 122 the previous year.
Overall, there was a 12% increase in calls to CARI in 2011.
National clinical director with CARI Niall Muldoon said that the internet and smartphones provide children with easy access to pornography.
"There's a change in the sexual norms for children and the availability of sexualised images and behaviours that they can see without necessarily understanding, and this is just a very clear manifestation of that," he said.
"The 57% increase in one year is huge."
