Parents admit they don't monitor their child's phone use because they don't want to 'invade their privacy' Many parents said they wanted to respect their child's privacy Others said they trusted their child with a mobile phone, survey reveals Safety: Parents of children as young as six admit they would be unable to access their youngster's locked mobile phone Parents of children as young as six fail to keep tabs on their mobile phone use for fear of 'invading their privacy', according to a new survey. Almost 60 per cent of mothers and fathers questioned said they did not monitor their child's mobile phone activity. Of those, one in four said they chose not to check in order to respect their infant's privacy. The majority of parents - 42 per cent - said they never got around to checking what their youngsters were using their phones for, while 13 per cent said they trusted their child with the device. Over 2,000 parents of children aged 10 or younger who owned a mobile phone were questioned for the survey, which was carried out by mobileinsurance.co.uk. The survey revealed there are children as young as six in possession of a mobile phone. Nearly 80 per cent of parents whose child had a phone with a lock or pass-code on it admitted they would not know how to access it. This is despite the fact that children could be using their smartphone to access the internet. The firm behind the survey urged parents to ensure their child's access to online content was suitably restricted. According to website director Jason Brockman, mothers and fathers should monitor children's mobile phone use as a means of 'keeping them safe'. Parents must to more to ensure their children 'aren't talking to strangers or being bullied' via their smartphones, he said. Keeping tabs: Parents were urged to monitor their child's mobile phone use as a means of keeping them safe 'It's not a case of invading their privacy, but it should be seen as a way of keeping them safe,' he said. 'Parents should make sure that, if their children have access to the internet on their phones, adult content and websites are restricted, and it's also important to make sure they aren't talking to strangers or being bullied. He said it was 'pretty shocking' that children as young as six should have their own mobile phone.