Keeping Kids Safe from Harm (Pornography Awareness)-Part 7
PORNOGRAPHY AWARENESS:
We know how dangerous pornography is in the adult world and how it leads to unhealthy fantasies and illusions, unsatisfying relationships, unrealistic expectations, betrayal of real love, causes ineffective parenting and desensitized moral values.
While there are many ways that pornography harms children, note that every child who views pornography will not necessarily be affected. The effects of pornography are progressive and addictive. Every child who is exposed to pornography does not automatically become a sexual deviant or sex addict. It is important for us to look at ways pornography can potentially harm our children.
1. Exposure to pornography frequently results in sexual illnesses, unplanned pregnancies and sexual addiction! Children are learning an extremely dangerous message that sex without responsibility is acceptable and desirable. It endangers children’s health. In the United States about one in four sexually experienced teenagers acquires sexually transmitted diseases (STD) every year, resulting in three million cases of teenage STDs. Infectious syphilis rates have more than doubled among teenagers since the mid-1980s.
2. Children often imitate what they’ve seen, read or heard.
3. Sexually against other children suggest that exposure to pornography can prompt kids to act out sexually against younger, smaller, and more vulnerable children.
4. Exposure to pornography shapes attitudes and values and we as caring, responsible parents and teachers want to instill in our children our own personal values. Unfortunately, the messages of pornography may be educating our children on these very important life issues through photographs, videos, magazines, virtual games, and Internet pornography constitute the tools used today.
5. Exposure to pornography interferes with a child’s development and identity and during certain critical periods of childhood, a child’s brain is being programmed for sexual orientation and the mind appears to be developing a “hardwire.” Here is where the exposure to pornography may become imprinted on the child’s “hard drive” and become a permanent part of his or her sexual orientation. Children generally do not have a natural sexual capacity until between the ages of ten and twelve. As they grow up, children are especially susceptible to influences affecting their development with pornography short-circuiting and/or distorting the normal personality development process with misinformation about a their sexuality, sense of self, and body that leaves the child confused, changed and damaged.
Most of us find it difficult to talk to our children about sex in general, let alone the harmful effects of pornography, as graphically described. We want to protect the innocence and purity of childhood for as long as possible. May we pray for God’s continued guidance for parents and teachers to do our part and we pray for the children of today to steer away from this dangerous area.
There are other safety dangers to be aware of with guns, bicycles, water, holidays like Christmas and Halloween, cell and iPhones, general home and school accidents.
Resources and information were put together from following resources:
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Staff Liaisons Ernie Allen, President Charles B. Wang International Children’s Building 699 Prince Street Alexandria, VA 22314-3175 703-274-3900 703-274-2222 (FAX) eallen@ncmec.org
National Association of School Resource Officers
National Children’s Advocacy Center
National Education Association
National PTA Sensibilities, Inc.
The Education Standards Task Force
Internet Sites Resources
Kids Safety Tips: www.ncmec.net/missing