When a 12-year-old starts dating, what are parents supposed to do?

A sneaky glimpse at her 14-year-old daughter’s WhatsApp left Shrima Ravindran* aghast. The seemingly endless stream of messages, with a liberal sprinkling of kiss emojis, made it clear to her that the boy was more than a friend. Ravindran’s first instinct was to read out the riot act.