At 12 years old she was just a child. But Michaela Davis was anxious to reach maturity, believing that life as a grown-up would be far more exciting. In photos of Michaela released to the media, who was discovered dead last Saturday having been strangled and sexually assaulted, she looks older.

At her emotionally charged funeral service in Porterstown, Dublin, on Thursday, parish priest Fr John Daly described how, like so many other youngsters, she was in a hurry to become an adult. "Michaela was eager to grow up – too eager at times. She pushed the boundaries in many ways. She wanted to grow up so much and so quickly," he told the packed congregation. "Our children today are pushed and forced to grow up much quicker than we ever had to, to contend with things at a much earlier age than we ever did. And more than ever we need to protect the child, more than ever we need to provide the right environment to help them flourish and to fulfill their dreams."

Overwhelmed with grief, Michaela's parents Brendan and Deirdre and her brother Brendan jnr comforted each other through one of the most difficult days of their lives. There will be many more incomprehensibly testing days to come for the family.

Michaela, who would have turned 13 in October, was last seen at midnight last Friday night. She left her family home in Porterstown, Clonsilla, saying she'd be back soon. A couple of hours later, her parents reported her missing when she failed to return home.

On Saturday afternoon, her dead body was discovered in undergrowth beside the Royal Canal in Porterstown by a passer-by. Eighteen-year-old Jonathan Byrne, of Lohunda Downs in Clonsilla, has been charged with her murder.

A week on from the tragedy, the predominant feeling in the Dublin 15 community continues to be incomprehensible sadness. In every corner of Ireland, people have been affected by the child's sudden death and parents in particular have expressed empathy for Michaela's mother and father. All week, parents have been looking at their own children and wondering: could something so unimaginably terrible ever happen to one of mine?

Rearing children

"I have no doubt in my mind that it's harder to be a parent today than it was when I was raising my children, who are now in their 30s. It's also a much more difficult environment for children," said Dr David Carey, a psychologist who works with children and adolescents in private practice in south Dublin. "It was complicated back then, but it's more complicated now. Children have more access to alcohol, drugs and cars. It is a more worrisome and complicated situation for parents today."

While there is no doubt that children and teenagers had access to drugs and alcohol 20 years ago, some things have changed for children in 21st century Ireland.

"Girls are far more developed than they were 20 years ago. But just because a child looks older than her years doesn't mean that emotionally she is as old as she appears. This girl Michaela was slipping out of her house at midnight. I just don't get it. But I wasn't there, I don't know what happened. They are grieving parents at the moment, it must be so difficult for them."

Children and teenagers growing up today have much more access to disposable income. It is not unusual for an eight-year-old to have a mobile phone and to be extremely computer literate. Kids maintain social-networking sites on Bebo and Facebook and have hundreds of online 'friends'. While there are many positive aspects to social networking, particularly for children in isolated rural areas, it can also have a negative impact.

Sexual predators do try and target children online, but in most cases, the dangers kids face online are from their own peers. The internet is often used to put pressure on kids to engage in activity they aren't ready for, as well as cyberbullying.

"Children today are much more financially independent. they also have more access than ever to technology and also to driving cars. The internet has really opened children's social possibilities," says Colman Noctor, a child and adolescent psychotherapist who works at St Patrick's Hospital as well as a private practice.

"In the past, parents would have known all their children's friends. But because of the cyber world, the genie is out of the bottle, so to speak. And it can't be put back in. Parents have said to me, 'I don't know his/her friends anymore. This leaves parents vulnerable. It also leaves children vulnerable."

In modern society, everything seems to be available at out fingertips. Everything has progressed. But for children, their emotional development has not changed.

"The big issue today is the precocious development of youngsters. Young people want to grow up quicker than before," adds Noctor. "There is more pressure on children. Because of advancements in television and online media, our children are much more exposed to sexual content. There is an expectation that children are able to cope with advanced sexual exposure. And a child that feels pressure to be or do something is vulnerable. Our culture has undergone vast changes. Childhood is something that hasn't adapted as fast."

Breaking the rules

Children and teenagers will always act out and break the rules. It is a natural attempt by youngsters to try and establish their own identity and their place in an ever-confusing world. Underage drinking, drug-taking and underage sex is nothing new in Ireland.

"Children and teenagers have been breaking the rules for generations and will continue to do so. But the consequences are greater now because of how our society has changed," says Carey.

"There is much more availability of sexually explicit material. Our children are bombarded by this and of course it has an impact on them. The adolescent brain can't always think clearly. It acts on impulses, particularly if there is a lot of peer pressure. The ability to think clearly comes with adulthood. We have to protect our children from their own biological development delays."