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FREDERICTON — Police are warning parents after four young New Brunswick children voluntarily shared nude images of themselves online.

RCMP say the children, between the ages of eight and 12, shared nude pictures or videos on unspecified free websites in recent months.

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The children were identified by the RCMP’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit, and all have been confirmed to be safe.

The Mounties say such image-sharing is becoming more common, and are encouraging parents to be vigilant about what children are doing online.

They say parents and guardians should know what sites children are visiting, regularly monitor their devices, and talk to them about appropriate online behaviour.

They say they should also consider making a “family contract” that makes online rules clear.

“It is unfortunately becoming more common for young people, even children, to share exploitative photos and videos of themselves online, and once it’s online it can’t always be removed,” New Brunswick RCMP Sgt. Chantal Farrah said in a statement Wednesday.

“Many young people also don’t realize that publicly sharing images or videos of a sexual nature of a person under the age of 18 is a child pornography offence.”