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How are Kids Affected by Viewing Porn?
April 15, 2010
It can be scary for parent to think about their children viewing explicit sexual material online, and it’s a good thing to want to protect our children from seeing things they’re not developmentally ready for. However, we simply cannot control everything our children see.
The first time I taught a junior high sex education class, I asked the students’ parents what filters they were using on their computers and TVs at home. To a person, the parents swore their children had no access to explicit material. I then surveyed the students, nearly all of whom said they had seen adult-rated content on the internet and on cable TV at their friends’ homes. The good news was that our sex ed teaching team had a year’s worth of classes to help the students put what they had seen into context.
Sexologist Timaree Schmit just published a common sense post on the effects of porn viewing by kids. It’s worthwhile reading to help put things into perspective. You’ll still want to put the brakes on your kids’ access to cable and internet, but maybe you won’t panic as much if the kids work the loopholes.
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2 Responses to “How are Kids Affected by Viewing Porn?”
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what happens when a child accidentally watches a porn movie? does it affect him all his life and make him too aware?
Tady,
The research indicates no harm to accidental viewing, or even to natural curiosity. What parents can do if they learn about the porn incident, is to explain that it’s not realistic. They can put it into perspective of actors doing what they’re told to do, and that sex between mature, consenting partners can be a lovely thing that’s very different than what porn shows.
Kids get messages from all over the place — TV, magazines, schoolyard conversations, parents’ comments and jokes, and their own exploration. There’s no such thing as a truly naive child these days, assuming the child is out in the world. So, don’t worry about trying to protect your child’s innocence. Rather, focus on giving your child self confidence and information so he/she won’t be taken advantage of and won’t go out exploring things he/she can’t yet put into perspective.