Help! I caught my child watching porn, what must I do?!

South Africa · CPD courses & CPD points · Health Professionals

Our kids and porn – what on earth do we do? What do we say? And how do we advise parents to respond when the dreaded moment occurs and they stumble across their no-longer innocent kid watching porn.

 

Right now, there are at least at least 4.5 million porn sites on the web with 64 000 visitors per minute. According to a 2019 report 70.7% of tweens and 84.0% of teens encountered nudity or content of a sexual nature online. So while we are not trying to give it the thumbs up, we ARE putting it out there that it is pretty inevitable that most of our kids are going to land where your kid did today. Like anything inevitable, it’s easier if we plan for it, but if we can’t, give yourself a break, pull up your big girl panties and dive in.

 

We all have different values in relation to porn but some basics prevail when it comes to the big chat – a much harder one than the birds and the bees for sure

 

Know where you stand on porn before you get into the discussion.

Don’t respond immediately with shock, horror shame or indifference (they won’t buy the latter anyway)

Get real – if they big enough to stream it, they have to big enough to talk about it. This means NORMALISING THEIR INTEREST IN SEX, BUT Not NORMALISING WHAT THEY FIND ONLINE. What you want to get over is there is no need for shame in relation to their curiosity, but that what they are finding is not the real deal. Women and men don’t look that in real life. They don’t act like that either. Talk about how these kinds of images are going to make it hard for them to get laid in the real world, ‘cause women actually like to be engaged as people not life support systems for Vajajays. And guys don’t have to pump it for three hours straight to be considered men. If you can help them understand how porn affects THEM in THEIR lives, not just that it is sexist, you have a much higher chance of being heard.

Its also important to impart (but maybe not all on the same day) that porn is not that different to a drug – our brains need more of it to feel less. And by more in this case, we mean extremes. And then it will be hard to be aroused in the real world, by real girls. There’s no fun in that.

Don’t forget to throw in how important the notion of CONSENT is in the real world, something not often seen in the world that is PornHub.

Lastly, stay away from shaming them –even if your family values abhor porn. The teen years are hard enough without added angst.

 

Watch our talk on teens and sexting here.

- Pam and Sarah

Calabash · South Africa
Calabash Articles · South Africa
Calabash Partners · South Africa
Calabash Contributors · South Africa
Calabash Speakers · South Africa
Calabash Talks · South Africa
Calabash Sign up · South Africa
Calabash Sign in · South Africa
Audiologists CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Psychologists CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Dieticians CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Article · Going Deeper Than Diets: Rethinking Relationships with Food and Weight · South Africa
Article · General Exam Tips for Writing the Board Exam · South Africa
Article · Tidbits on Treating the Dizzy Patient · South Africa
Neonatal therapy CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Dyspraxia CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Australia CPD courses & CPD points · South Africa
Talk · Sensory Modulation Patterns in children with Cerebral Palsy · South Africa
Talk · Thoughts on Infantile Trauma and Psychoanalytic Intervention · South Africa
Talk · Working with Borderline Personality Disorder from an Attachment Theory Perspective · South Africa
How It Works · South Africa
About Partners · South Africa
Frequently Asked Questions · South Africa
Calabash · Australia
Calabash Articles · Australia
Calabash Partners · Australia
Calabash Contributors · Australia
Calabash Speakers · Australia
Calabash Talks · Australia
Calabash Sign up · Australia
Calabash Sign in · Australia
Physiotherapists CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Speech Therapists CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Medical Professionals CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Article · Euphoria: what every therapist and parent needs to know about the show every teen is talking about · Australia
Article · Intuitive Eating & Digestive Health · Australia
Article · On Zen and Psychotherapy · Australia
Genetics CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Dementia CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Language CPD courses & CPD points · Australia
Talk · Use of low-tech tools and devices in Hand Therapy : The Hand and Fingers · Australia
Talk · Understanding and Managing Central Auditory Processing Disorder · Australia
Talk · Emotionally dysregulated clients: Supporting Families - 1. The Distress Cycle · Australia
Frequently Asked Questions · Australia
About Calabash · Australia
Uploading an Article · Australia
Calabash · New Zealand
Calabash Articles · New Zealand
Calabash Partners · New Zealand
Calabash Contributors · New Zealand
Calabash Speakers · New Zealand
Calabash Talks · New Zealand
Calabash Sign up · New Zealand
Calabash Sign in · New Zealand
Physiotherapists CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
Dieticians CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
Psychiatrists CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
Article · Cindy Strydom on Establishing a new practice · New Zealand
Article · Helpful Lifestyle Changes for Patients with Tinnitus · New Zealand
Article · Working with Impilo: The Experience of Assessing Parents for Adoption · New Zealand
United Kingdom CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
New Zealand CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
Apraxia CPD courses & CPD points · New Zealand
Talk · Current Trends in Childhood Psychiatric Diagnosis · New Zealand
Talk · Sensory & Emotional Regulation 1: An Introduction to Sensory Regulation · New Zealand
Talk · Emotionally dysregulated clients: Supporting Families - 1. The Distress Cycle · New Zealand
Frequently Asked Questions · New Zealand
About Calabash · New Zealand
Uploading a Talk · New Zealand
Calabash · United Kingdom
Calabash Articles · United Kingdom
Calabash Partners · United Kingdom
Calabash Contributors · United Kingdom
Calabash Speakers · United Kingdom
Calabash Talks · United Kingdom
Calabash Sign up · United Kingdom
Calabash Sign in · United Kingdom
Physiotherapists CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
Dieticians CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
Registered Counsellors CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
Article · Helpful Lifestyle Changes for Patients with Tinnitus · United Kingdom
Article · On Hope · United Kingdom
Article · Coming Out: Parent's reactions and Their Impact · United Kingdom
United States CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
Vestibular Disorders CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
New Zealand CPD courses & CPD points · United Kingdom
Talk · Introduction to Schema Therapy - Part 1 - Core Childhood Needs & Maladaptive Schemas · United Kingdom
Talk · A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Anxiety · United Kingdom
Talk · Addressing Structural Racism · United Kingdom
How It Works · United Kingdom
Frequently Asked Questions · United Kingdom
About Contributors · United Kingdom
Calabash · United States
Calabash Articles · United States
Calabash Partners · United States
Calabash Contributors · United States
Calabash Speakers · United States
Calabash Talks · United States
Calabash Sign up · United States
Calabash Sign in · United States
Occupational Therapists CPD courses & CPD points · United States
Medical Professionals CPD courses & CPD points · United States
Physiotherapists CPD courses & CPD points · United States
Article · What to do when your client arrives for therapy inebriated or otherwise under the influence · United States
Article · Applying DBT to an Adolescent Population · United States
Article · Parenting in Cyberspace · United States
Play Therapy CPD courses & CPD points · United States
New Zealand CPD courses & CPD points · United States
New Zealand CPD courses & CPD points · United States
Talk · Addressing Structural Racism · United States
Talk · Introduction to Schema Therapy - Part 1 - Core Childhood Needs & Maladaptive Schemas · United States
Talk · Use of low-tech tools and devices in Hand Therapy : The Hand and Fingers · United States
Terms of Use · United States
About Partners · United States
About Calabash · United States
Calabash · Canada
Calabash Articles · Canada
Calabash Partners · Canada
Calabash Contributors · Canada
Calabash Speakers · Canada
Calabash Talks · Canada
Calabash Sign up · Canada
Calabash Sign in · Canada
Registered Counsellors CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
Dieticians CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
Physiotherapists CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
Article · Locating Dyslexia in the South African Schooling Context · Canada
Article · Points of Consideration for Post-Graduates Seeking Employment · Canada
Article · Decolonising Psychology? · Canada
Vestibular Disorders CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
South Africa CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
Couple Therapy CPD courses & CPD points · Canada
Talk · Understanding and Managing Enuresis and Encopresis · Canada
Talk · An Introduction to Infant Mental Health for Psychologists, Therapists and Health Professionals · Canada
Talk · Current and Contextual Trends in Gender Identity · Canada
Frequently Asked Questions · Canada
Privacy Policy · Canada
Terms of Use · Canada
Psychologist in Sydney