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The Church recently released a new series of videos covering various aspects of dealing with pornography. Some of the videos discuss how to deal with issues that you are personally struggling with, others–like this one–are resources geared to help families. So, what is the best way to talk to your children about healthy sexuality and help protect them from the influence of pornography?
Parents should take control of the discussion of healthy sexuality with their children because the reality is that children will see pornography at some point. If parents take initiative and discuss healthy sexuality early and often, they take away the secrecy surrounding sexuality. In turn, this mitigates curiosity. While these discussions may awaken some curiosity in children, they will be able to turn to the support and love of their family as they learn.
To foster healthy sexuality, parents need to teach progressive, developmental facts over multiple conversations. If you have these conversations with your children when they are young, they will come to trust you and will come to you when they see sexualized images. Be fully engaged, and do not shy away from talking about sexuality with your children. Consider your own experiences with sexuality when you were younger, and think of ways you can address questions like those you had at the time.
