All Teen Access Porn
If your teen does not know how to quit watching porn, you might need to access some professional help for you and your teen. Alongside professional help, you can implement the following seven strategies to help your teen successfully avoid using pornography:
all teen access porn
Teach them trustworthiness and accountability are good things. And make it challenging to access devices when alone. Teach them how to use the devices wisely, including putting them away with a lock and key in a filing cabinet, for instance, to make it more difficult to access when there is temptation.
Work with your teen to identify and discern the difference between needs and wants. Needs are actually the basics of survival: air, food, water, shelter, clothing and relationships with God and people. Everything else belongs on the wants list, including sexual gratification.
Healthy sexual functioning requires healthy thinking and truth. Help your teen think about pornography and sex using the template offered through Philippians 4:8. This is a great way to establish a foundation to sexual health. It begins in the mind. Song of Solomon helps us get a glimpse of what God wants for us in our sexual relationship with our spouse.
They need the mindset that limits are freeing (Psalm 119). Some teen boys and girls believe sex and pornography symbolizes their freedom of choice. It actually symbolizes an enslaving and stunting of maturity. Teens entangled in its perversion and games have difficulty thinking for themselves and become enslaved to its allure and deception.
During the teen years, risk-taking is a very normal part of development, but remember that normal does not make it good. When kids are aroused, lonely, angry, bored or upset, decision-making can take a wrong turn fast and risk-taking can become damaging.
Help your teen understand that knowledge can be gained from others, but that wisdom is up to them and their decision-making. God tells us that wisdom is to be pursued and desired more than riches and Proverbs 31 is about the honor found through wisdom. Help them take smart risks.
Teens with a strong faith and a solid relationship with their parents are less likely to pursue pornography. Teens who typically use the internet in private are much more vulnerable to being drawn toward the temporary strong feelings of pornography.
Dr. Huerta has maintained a private practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado since 2003 and has served families through Focus on the Family since 2004. He and his wife, Heather, have been married since 1997 and love being parents to their three teen children, Alex, Lexi, and Maci.
The Christian life is a lifelong journey of surrender and becoming more like Christ. Apply that specifically to your struggle with pornography. What does it practically look like for you to surrender your sexuality to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
Porn as a concept is not inherently harmful to teenage brains. But preexisting mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can lead to problematic porn use, and porn may spread sexual misinformation to your teen.
While sometimes friends will share pornographic content with others, viewing porn is primarily a singular activity. The same survey found that 75% of teens reported viewing alone rather than with peers.
You can start the conversation in a judgment-free way so that you can help educate where porn misinforms. Having these difficult talks with your teen might also help gauge their rationale for watching and help you choose which helpful resources to provide.
Check the website or call your ISP. See if your internet company offers parental controls, content filters, or other screen-time features. These can effectively limit exposure to pornography.
Whatever the case may be for you, research shows that about 67% of 13-year-old boys and about 40% of 13-year-old girls have seen at least one pornographic image on some sort of digital device in the past year. Those numbers jump up toward the end of adolescence. Research shows that by the age of 18, over 90% of boys and over 60% of girls have seen porn in some form or other.
Teen sexting, or the sharing of sexually explicit images online or on smartphones, is also becoming more common. Despite the fact that nearly a quarter of teens have sent or received sexually explicit content through text, it is a highly serious crime that carries very severe consequences.
A study from 2014 estimated that nearly 70% of boys and 40% of girls have seen a pornographic image online by the age of 13. By 18 years old, these figures jump to 90% of boys and more than 60% of girls.
Many parents feel apprehensive about talking to their teens about sex. However, the subject will come up, most likely sooner than later. Young people today have far more access to explicit material than ever before. Parental controls for pornography can block some of this content, but technology savvy teens can find ways around them.
The best way to protect your child from the effect of porn addiction is through frank and open dialogue. While that is easier said than done, here are a few therapist-recommended tips for talking to your teens about porn.
Both teens and parents do not look forward to talking about sex or pornography. Address the awkwardness of the conversation right away, and let your teen know that the discussion is difficult for you too. Show them that you are open to hearing what they have to say, and you are not there to judge, shame or preach.
Research has found that many teens watching porn are doing so out of curiosity and a lack of understanding about sexuality. However, porn is not the most accurate place to learn about healthy sexual interactions. Ask open-ended questions and give your child space to talk about what they are trying to understand.
Young people may uncover new aspects of their sexuality from watching porn. This can cause feelings of confusion or uncertainty. Be ready to discuss surprises with your child and provide reassurance if necessary.
Since porn is so normalized, teens may not realize that watching pornography can come with risks. Let your child know that while some porn use is healthy and normal, explicit material has the potential to become addictive. Comparing porn to addictive substances like alcohol or drugs can paint a clearer picture for your teen. Also, describe the effects of porn addiction in a factual and judgment-free manner.
Some parents strongly object to pornography use. However, imposing your beliefs on your teen will only damage their trust and shut down communication. When talking about the effects of porn with your teen, try to keep the conversation neutral and open. You want your child to see you as a source of support, not a source of judgment.
One of the most damaging effects of porn use is its influence on developing young minds. Teens who explore their sexuality through internet pornography are inadvertently training their brains to respond to exaggerated and unrealistic images.
What are the risks of pornography? Teenagers who look at pornography regularly might develop unhealthy or stereotypical views about gender roles, sex and sexual performance. These views can make it harder for them to develop respectful and enjoyable sexual relationships.
Armstrong, A., Quadara, A., El-Murr, A., & Latham, J. (2017). The effects of pornography on children and young people [Research snapshot]. Australian Institute of Family Studies. Retrieved 9 February 2022 from -documents/online_pornography-effects_on_children_young_people_snapshot.pdf.
Nash, V., Adler, J.R., Horvath, M.A.H., Livingstone, S., Marston, C., Owen, G., & Wright, J. (2015). Identifying the routes by which children view pornography online: Implications for future policy-makers seeking to limit viewing. UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2022 from
But online access also comes with risks, like inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. Using social media apps and websites where kids interact, predators may pose as a child or teen looking to make a new friend. They might prod the child to exchange personal information, such as address and phone number, or encourage kids to call them, seeing their phone number via caller ID.
Online tools let you control your kids' access to adult material and help protect them from Internet predators. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) provide parent-control options. You can also get software that helps block access to sites and restricts personal information from being sent online. Other programs can monitor and track online activity.
If you're aware of the sending, use, or viewing of child pornography online, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678 or go online to their CyberTipline. They'll make sure the info is forwarded to law enforcement officials for investigation. Contact your local law enforcement agency or the FBI if your child has received child pornography via the Internet.
Talk about the sites and apps teens use and their online experiences. Discuss the dangers of interacting with strangers online and remind them that people online don't always tell the truth. Explain that passwords are there to protect against things like identity theft. They should never share them with anyone, even a boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend.
With so many phone and computer apps on the market, and new ones popping up every day, it can be difficult to keep track of which apps our kids are using. Here are the most popular apps for teens right now, along with what you need to know about each app.
In fact, males who report using pornography during adolescence followed by daily consumption of pornography often advance to viewing extreme content, including violence, to maintain arousal (see more on this below). Over time these men become less interested in physical intercourse as it is viewed as bland and uninteresting. Men then lose the ability to have sex with a real-life partner. This condition is labeled as Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction (PIED). 041b061a72