This is part 1 in a series.
By Edward Allison
The internet is one of the most wonderful inventions of our age. Like most power tools, it also happens to be one of the most dangerous creations. Within seconds we can look up and find answers to all of our pressing questions like; What is the traffic like on the way to work? What time does the movie start? What was the score of last night’s game? You can find long lost relatives, shop for a new car, plan a trip around the world and stay in touch with all your friends across the world. It truly is wonderful!
But with one little word, just three little characters, three keystrokes S – E – X and a mouse click your son, daughter, spouse or you can will be exposed to scenes of hardcore (actual full) intercourse, scenes of oral and anal sex, even scenes portraying rape and forced sex. That is unless you put in place internet filtering technology.
Think about all the devices that are in your home that attach to the internet. Desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones are the obvious ones. But many parents do not realize that gaming consoles, like Xbox, PlayStation even the Wii also connect to the internet and there have been instances where kids were exposed to hardcore porn and or even approached by child predators through these gaming consoles (Hughes, 2014). Most music players, like IPods and other MP3 players have internet browsers built into them and are the main way a lot of kids are accessing pornography. Did you know that DVD, Bluray players and TV’s are also connecting to the internet now to stream video and show other content from the internet. Heck there was a line of refrigerators that were connecting to the internet (Samsung, 2014)! With all these different devices it is critical that we pay attention to what type of content is allowed to pass through to them.
These articles are meant to teach parents about some of the tools that are available to us to help safeguard our children.
But I want to say first and foremost (I am even going to type in capitals so you know it is important!); THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTION TO TALKING TO YOUR KIDS AND FINDING OUT FROM THEM WHAT QUESTIONS THEY HAVE ABOUT SEX AND WHERE THEY ARE GETTING THEIR ANSWERS. This is NOT an issue about trusting your kids or spying on them or even limiting what they can look at, this where the EMPOWERMENT happens. The real issue is HOW and WHAT do YOU want your kids to learn about sex. So no matter what filters you choose to use, be prepared to talk to your kids about sex and pornography. Empower them with truth and knowledge so they can make their own choices.
Continue to Part 2
Curious to learn more? Check out our books, ; How to Talk to Your Kids About Pornography, which is also available in ; and .
Need Help with Tough Topics? We got you covered!Sources
Hughes, M. (2014, April 28). Sex offender accused of child luring through video gaming. Q13 FOX News. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://q13fox.com/2014/04/28/online-video-gaming-and-child-luring/#axzz30Qe49svc
. (n.d.). . Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://www.samsung.com/us/appliances/refrigerators/RF4289HARS/XAA
Like Us on Facebook
