Why do I Need to Protect My Children From Pornography

As seen previously, children are especially vulnerable to the effects of pornography exposure. Children often form ideas about relationships and sex by images they see in their childhood. It becomes part of them. Here are some ways to help keep children safe from these negative images:

• Keep all inappropriate material out of your home. Children can become desensitized easily.
• Install effective internet filters. There is still a chance of pornography ads or pop-ups making it through, but without a filter, it will certainly show up on your computer.
• Teach children to “Crash and Tell” (from www.strenghtenthefamily.net Role-play with children what to do if inappropriate images appear on their computer or TV screen. Teach children that even though they may be curious about what they see, they need to immediately turn off the screen (crash) and tell an adult. Make sure they know they are not in trouble and they are not to blame.
• Make sure children know that the pornography industry is actively trying to expose them through pop-ups, spam emails, and chat rooms. They know pornography is addictive and they want to bring more people in and to get more money.
  
• Never allow children to have internet access in their bedrooms. Keep computers in a public area.
  
• Periodically check the History on your computer to see all sites accessed.
  
• Don’t give children and teens cell phones with internet access. “Sexting” (sending sexual images by cell phone text messages) is rampant among youth.
  
• Become involved in encouraging businesses to remove materials with sexual images and messages away from children’s view.
  
• Fight pornography in your community. Remember, even if you protect your children from pornography in your own home, other children may expose them, and the adults they interact with may victimize them. We need to address this as a community-wide problem in order to protect our families.
  
• Go to the website: http://www.cp80.org/flash/training/ english07.html for a 5-minute parent training program that helps parents set up safeguards against pornography.