It’s a kids’ rite of passage, but every time I turn on the TV, I’m less and less likely to ever let mine out of my sight.

I think of myself as being a pretty laid-back kind of parent.

My kids are allowed to wander up our quiet cul-de-sac with their friends and do the “Can-Lucy-come-out-to-play?” kind of door-knock we used to do before they were ever called “play dates”.

I leave them to it in the backyard to work out their own fun without a grown-up continuously calling the shots and I have started to let my seven-year old walk (albeit right next door) to the corner store to buy the milk.

But there is one thing I am hesitant about.

http://ivillageau.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/files/sleepover-jpg.jpg Sleepovers were a very common thing when I was a kid.

Something I did an awful lot as a kid.

Something they are all going to soon begin to ask me for.

Something I have delayed with excuses and better options.

Sleepovers.

Just the thought of them fills me with slightly irrational dread.

And I am just not sure if I am over-reacting due to the nature of my job or if this is a legitimate fear.

As a journalist, I am engulfed in the world of prominent court cases daily.

Social media means there isn’t a detail we miss out on. Live blogs and twitter feeds provide salacious details of every witness testimony, every tiny detail.

And this is what has me scared.

It is terrifying reading.

I know I am allowing these horrors breed paranoia in my mind but the fact is, it happens. And no-one can predict to who or when.

Statistics we are all aware of tell us over and over again that the majority of abuse occurs by someone known to the victim. In fact 8 out of 10 cases of abuse are by family friends, family, teachers or trusted acquaintances.

http://ivillageau.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/files/robert-hughes-wife-trial-jpg.jpg The Robert Hughes and Rolf Harris's cases have brought paranoia crashing into my world.

But statistics also tell us that confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect are actually falling overall. And sexual abuse is the least common form of abuse. Of the 40,466 cases reported in 2010-11, 13 per cent were for sex abuse.

But let’s be real here.

Statistics don’t cast a shadow on that inner dread that lurks within when you think about your child being placed in that situation.

Your head can absorb all the facts at once, but it’s more than often your heart that does the parenting.

The parents whose daughter alleges the abuse against Rolf Harris trusted their relationship with the entertainer.

The parents of the girls’ abused by convicted actor Robert Hughes felt confident in their friendships with Hughes.

They didn’t send their kids into the lion’s den knowingly.

They trusted these men.

So how can I be sure? How can I be 100% absolute my kids are safe when we hear every day of these monsters?

It keeps me awake at night knowing they exist and that none of us can foresee when or where they will strike.

But I also know that I can’t wrap my kids up in cottonwood. I can’t protect them from harm every second of the day and I certainly can’t limit their lives through fear.

On a practical level I am selfishly so far quite glad my eldest two are boys. As far as I can see the sleepover seems to be a predominantly girl activity at these younger ages.

But I also have a daughter, and I also know the time will come when my boys will ask.

Will I say no forever? Will I make my home the sleepover destination? Or will I cut the apron springs and take a chance?

I have no answers so far.

All I know is that with every court case, with every detail, with every prosecution my desire to shelter my children grows.

Do you, or will you, let your child have sleepovers? What are your rules for at what age and how well you have to know the family?