The Internet is a blessing in general, but it has also proven to be quite a curse, especially when it causes the loss of innocence in a child. Every single day, kids are exposed to all kinds of sexually explicit stuff online that we parents are often at a loss on how to deal with it if and when our kids lay eyes on them.
Susan Stiffelman, The Huffington Post’s AdviceMama shares some tips on what to do when your child sees sexually explicit things online.
It’s safe to talk about it
Stiffelman says that when your child sees sexually explicit things online, you must make the child feel that it’s safe to talk about it with you. You need to know more to better understand how to undo the mess caused by those images. If you can, Stiffelman says we should avoid interrogating the child about it, and just listen to him or her discuss it.
Let the child react appropriately
Depending on what your child knows about sex, the experience of seeing stuff online could be fascinating or scary. In any case, it still represents a major loss of innocence on your child’s part, and you should handle the situation more gently. Let the child cry if he or she wants, and answer questions should some come your way.
Find out why
According to Stiffelman, you should let some time pass before you ask your child why he or she checked out that sexually explicit site and suffered a loss of innocence in the process. If it’s sexual curiosity, Stiffelman recommends that you provide your child with age-appropriate books about the subject. If the child says it was a friend who told him or her to do it, then you should talk to the parents of that friend to make sure that they are supervised at your home and at your child’s friend’s home.
Our computers at home actually have parental control software installed. There are lots of parental control software that you can download online for free, so get one now and monitor your child’s Internet use. With parental control software, we’ll be able to protect them not only from sexually explicit stuff on the Internet, but also worse things that I wouldn’t even dare mention here. Whether we like it or not, the Internet has a very dark side, and it is our duty to make sure our kids steer clear of that and be spared from further loss of innocence.
Find the original video below:
