Revealed, the online sexting codes used by kids

London - The baffling "text speak" used by children on their phones and computers can leave even the most enlightened parents in the dark.

But help is at hand after British police issued a guide to the codewords youngsters rely on to exchange secret explicit messages and photos online.

The worrying list of 112 phrases includes LMIRL, which means "let’s meet in real life", or IWSN – "I want sex now" and KPC – "keeping parents clueless".

A spokesperson for Humberside Police, which compiled them, said: "We have recently had numerous reports of young people sharing sexual, naked or semi-naked images of themselves, also known as sexting.

"We’re urging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of sexting as it could lead to embarrassment, blackmail or a criminal record.

"Talk about whether a person who asks for an image from you might also be asking other people for images.

"Use examples of when people have had a falling-out and what might happen to the images if this happens."

In the past four years almost 3 500 investigations into sexting by children have been opened by 25 police forces.

According to the NSPCC, one in seven young people have taken a naked or semi-naked picture of themselves, and more than half of that group went on to share the image with someone else.