How to porn-proof your kids and why you need to
The Biden Administration keeping pornography in the public schools
Most Americans believe the health and well-being of children should always be first and foremost, yet child pornography has now found its way into public school libraries. This has sparked a fierce debate among parents and officials about what children should be exposed to, as Frontline News recently reported.
While parents all over the country have been fighting local school boards and some states have passed legislation giving parents control over sexually explicit materials in schools, the federal government may have just made the parents' job more difficult. A Fox News report by Hannah Grossman in July 2023 explained that the Biden Administration “is starting to weaponize [the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights] to combat parents' efforts in local districts under the threat of withholding funding, according to education experts.”
Grossman quoted Max Eden, a research fellow focusing on K-12 education at the American Enterprise Institute who said “[t]he move signals that the DOE can investigate a district for simply reviewing parents' concerns about sexually explicit content in schools.”
Oli London tweeted highlights from the Fox News article:
In another article, Grossman reported on a Fox News Digital interview with Rhode Island father Rob Chiaradio who has been fighting the Westerly School District board to remove the book “Gender Queer,” which includes pornographic images, from its library bookshelves. Chiaradio told Fox that he believed that schoolchildren are being used and abused for a sick agenda:
Rather than teaching these kids about math, English, and science…, these kids are being used and abused in order to help these people achieve some kind of sick agenda that they have.
He also expressed concern that “destroying” children is one way in which officials may ultimately take down the country:
These… so-called leaders of the district are trusted by these kids. The only thing that I can think of here is that these people have other motivations," he said. "And that's the thing that really, really gets me. Because the best way to take down a country or a society… is to destroy a generation of its youth.".
Books in school libraries “unequivocally erotica”
Senior Fellow of the Education Freedom Center for the Independent Women’s Forum Nicole Solas penned a Written Statement Before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Hearing: Combatting Graphic, Explicit Books in School Libraries. In her October 19, 2023, statement, she described the gravity of the situation including what is in the pornographic and sexually explicit books available to public school children.
. . . This is not an occasional problem. On the contrary, the amount of sexually explicit books in school libraries is extensive and vast. . . . These books do not simply provide clinical sex education describing anatomy and reproduction. They contain numerous pornographic passages and pictures meant to instruct children on sexual pleasure, sexually excite children, or push a radical, ideological viewpoint of sex and sexuality. In many cases, these books are unequivocally erotica with both homosexual and heterosexual storylines framed against the youthful backdrops of high school, family, and friends. In one reported incident, hardcore pornography for adults was removed from a high school library and you can read an excerpt.
Solas included a list of the books and links to excerpts, imploring the committee members to “take some time to review the listed excerpts and graphics list provided. . . You will be astonished,” she wrote.
Significant harm to children
To explain the impact that pornography has on children, Solas referred to the American Academy of Pediatrician's description of its harm to children:
These negative effects include mental disturbance and unrest for the young school age child, including acting out and violent behavior. Because of its harmfulness to children, pornography must never be used as a tool to teach children human sexuality.”
The Academy is quite detailed in its description of the harms that pornography holds for elementary school children. The academy lists maladaptive behaviors and psychopathology that young children who have viewed pornography may display.
. . . Pornography exposure at these young ages often results in anxiety for the child. Children also report feelings of disgust, shock, embarrassment, anger, fear, and sadness after viewing pornography. These children can suffer all of the symptoms of anxiety and depression. They may become obsessed with acting out adult sexual acts that they have seen, and this can be very disruptive and disturbing to the child’s peers who witness or are victimized by this behavior. Children under twelve years old who have viewed pornography are statistically more likely to sexually assault their peers. In sum, children exposed to pornographic material are at risk for a broad range of maladaptive behaviors and psychopathology.
The Academy referred to a study done in the 1980s to explain the effect pornography had on older adolescents and young adults, They found that their moral compass was skewed and that their attitudes toward marriage, rape, and fidelity were compromised.
The following observations were noted regarding young adults exposed to pornography compared to the control group:
- Male subjects demonstrated increased callousness toward women.
- Subjects considered the crime of rape less serious.
- Subjects were more accepting of non-marital sexual activity and non-coital sexual practices such as oral and anal sex.
- Subjects became more interested in more extreme and deviant forms of pornography.
- Subjects were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their sexual partner.
- Subjects were more accepting of sexual infidelity in a relationship.
- Subjects valued marriage less and were twice as likely to believe marriage may become obsolete.
- Men experienced a decreased desire for children, and women experienced a decreased desire to have a daughter.
- Subjects showed a greater acceptance of female promiscuity.
UK concerned about effects of porn on kids, too
A 2023 report by the UK's Children's Commissioner regarding online pornography, in preparation for an online safety bill, emphasizes the harm that pornography inflicts on children. The report was the result of an analysis of 502 cases reports of child-on-child sexual abuse. The commissioner reported that it shapes and fuels violence against women and girls and promotes harmful sexual behaviors and children abusing children. Much of the abuse is like that depicted in pornography.
It is incredibly concerning that I found references to specific acts of sexual violence commonly seen in pornography in half of the interviews carried out following these cases of sexual abuse. Additional review of some of these cases found children suggesting direct links between pornography exposure and the harmful sexual behaviour exhibited.
Books that help parents teach kids to stay safe
Fortunately, there are books to help parents educate their children to recognize pornography when they see it and know what to do, as Louise Chambers reported for The Epoch Times. Kristen Jensen who was shocked to discover that a friend's son sexually abused his siblings after exposure to pornography was surprised that she could find no resources to help the family and soon found herself on a mission to address the issue.
To do this, Chambers explained, Jensen met with parents, read a lot, and watched videos on YouTube by experts on the neurological effects of pornography. Her efforts have resulted in the books “Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids“ for children aged 7 to 11, and ”Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.: A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds“ for children aged 3 to 6, and other resources for parents and children.
Mrs. Jenson’s book offers an age-appropriate definition of pornography so kids can recognize porn when they see it.
“Bad pictures show the private parts of the body that we cover with a swimsuit,” reads the book, which goes on to explain why these “bad pictures” are harmful, and offers a plan so that kids know what to do when they see them.
Mrs. Jenson said: “Educating kids on the harmful effects of pornography gives them good reasons to reject it. The book for older children describes the process of addiction, while the book for younger children presents the analogy of ‘picture poison.’”
The books appear to have been successful at accomplishing their goals, as Chambers shared Jensen's stories about two children's experiences with recognizing pornography and reacting appropriately. The first happened on the school playground where one child showed porn to another child.
One mom shared on social media that she read ‘Good Pictures Bad Pictures’ to her 9-year-old son, and three days later, he was shown pornography by another student on the playground during recess. Her son came home and told his mom what had happened. He said, ’I was scared, but I knew what to do.' Can’t you just feel the burden coming off of his young shoulders? No child deserves to face the porn industry alone!
The second incident occurred when an adult approached a child, showing him porn on his cell phone.
The second anecdote came from a mother who had read “Good Pictures Bad Pictures” to her 6-year-old son. The incident occurred while dining at a friend’s home.
Recounting the incident, Mrs. Jenson said: “A renovation project caused their friends to put the children’s toys downstairs, so each child was allowed to run down and grab a toy to play with. While the 6-year-old stayed looking at the toys, the man who rented the downstairs apartment approached him and showed him a video of gay porn on his phone. The boy immediately recognized that he was seeing porn, and he ran up and told his mom. He got himself out of a very harmful situation.”
Look inside the books
Below are two book reviews of Good Pictures Bad Pictures and Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.
The first is by Katie “a wife and home school mom of 6 kids who range from 13 years to 4,” on her YouTube channel “Life in the Mundane.”
The second is by Sarah Kimmel on her channel Family Tech. She is a “Microsoft Certified IT Manager, who is also a mom. She currently helps families understand and manage the technology in their homes.”
In a day and age when parents are being marginalized and bypassed, when it comes to their children's welfare, these books can give parents a little peace of mind, knowing they have a resource to help their children navigate a potentially less-than-friendly world.
Learn more:
- Defend young minds (Jensen's website with additional resources)
- Taking back the family
- Silent Educator: The Impact of Porn on Young Minds
- 6 Things to Do If Your Kid Sees Pornography
- Children as young as nine exposed to pornography
- Should We Teach Kids about Porn's Harms? Yes, and Here's How
- The effects of pornography on children and young people
- Children's experiences of legal but harmful content online
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