I’ve been enjoying Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s music since her days in (marvellous) indie band Theaudience, but I never expected her voice to turn up in a children’s app.

Digiduck’s Big Decision is that app, and it’s not just narrated by Sophie: her mother, TV presenter Janet Ellis, is also on board. And the app has a noble aim too: introducing children to the idea of internet safety.

“The story teaches children the importance of being a good online friend and is a great conversation starter for parents to raise the issue of internet safety and being a good online citizen from an early age,” explains its App Store listing.

The iPad and Android app is the work of child safety organisation Internet Matters and charity Childnet International, and is aimed at 3-7 year-olds.

Once children have worked their way through the story, there’s a quiz at the end, testing what they remember and what they’ve learned. The idea is that this will be a good spark for parents and children to talk more about internet safety issues.

More children are using connected devices at an earlier age nowadays, and many parents aren’t quite sure how best to ensure they stay safe online.

Yes, you can set internet filters to try to keep your kids away from the inappropriate stuff, but open, honest conversations are still really important to ensure your children approach the internet with a responsible attitude – as well as to help them feel comfortable telling you about anything they encounter that they’re worried about.

Digiduck’s Big Decision is a free download for iPad from Apple’s App Store, and a free download for Android tablets from the Google Play store.

And if you’re looking for more advice about how to talk to your children about internet safety – as well as what kinds of rules and restrictions might be appropriate – I recently asked a bunch of online security experts what they told their children.

The resulting piece for The Guardian will hopefully give you some good pointers.