Teaching kids about sex for 9-11 years old is never too early but in fact, it is the right time because this is the period when your child already knows the basics of gender and has related questions about it.
However, not all information will be effectively understood by kids in this age group, the article below will be a guide on teaching kids about sex for 9-11 years old appropriately and effectively.
Is it too early to talk to your child about pornography?
At the age of 9-11, children are often allowed by parents to use Internet-connected devices such as iPad to learn words, entertain, and explore the world around them through the small screen. At this age, most young children view pornographic content by accident.
For example, children click on pop-up ads on game sites that may contain pornography and links to pornography. Your child can watch pornography when friends show them, and simulated sexual behavior or sexual violence on TV shows like Game of Thrones or video games like Grand Theft Auto.
Especially at this age children are aware of certain knowledge about gender, so it is never too early to educate them about pornography and you need to consider the necessary information which your child can better understand.
Guide on teaching kids about sex
Make an initiate an birds and bees talk
Before you jump straight into defining pornography, you can kick off an informal conversation with a few questions like:
- Have you ever heard of pornography?
- What do you know about pornography?
- Have you ever watched any pictures or videos of a nude adult?
Listen and be open to what your child says. If your child has questions, it’s best to answer briefly and honestly and don’t make up the answers if you don’t know the answer.
Explain the term pornography to your child
Each age will have different ways of perceiving information, so you need to select and provide information at an appropriate level for your child. For example, pornography is images of adults having sex and a lot of adults love to see these types of images, as it is originally made for adults, not children like children.
Sometimes porn shows people acting weirdly and hurting each other, and it’s also less of a true reflection of real-life sex. The people in that video are doing things that they might not like to do themselves, simply because they get paid. So porn isn’t right for you and you have to turn it off if you accidentally see it.
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After you have explained to your child about pornography, you can ask them if they have any further questions and let them know that they can find you whenever they want to know about these sensitive issues.
Explain why porn is bad for them
Pornography is meant to excite those who are watching it, and for children 9-11 years old, pornography can be confusing and annoying. For better preparing, you will need to know how pornography affects your child’s brain. Talk to your kids about some of the consequences of watching porn like:
- Porn makes your child disrespect women
- Porn makes your child less smart
- Porn significantly consumes time you need for outside activities and friendships
- Porn distorts your views about healthy relationships
It encourages, normalizes and attracts violent and sexual violence, especially against women, making children more violent and less sympathetic to women. Pornography distorts a pure love relationship, it makes viewers understand that sex is important.
How can you keep children safe online?
Talk to your child about sensitive issues
Pornography is one of those sensitive issues that needs to be addressed. Many parents think that this kind of conversation will rob your child of innocence, but in fact, talking is one of the best ways to protect your child from the impact of pornography on their development.
So now might be a good time to start talking about porn, if you haven’t already. In addition to explaining pornography and its harm to your child, you can also share content such as telling your child what is appropriate and inappropriate for your child to see and instructing them on what to do if they see it. pornographic content.
Ensure a safe online environment for children
To ensure your child’s online environment is safe and healthier, you should consider using an additional online content filtering tool – considered by many parents as one of the best free parental control software to hide 15 types of harmful content on the Internet, including:
- Pornography
- Horrifying content like gore, accidents, ghosts, violence, murder, terrorism, etc
- Content about stimulants, addictive substances such as alcohol, beer, marijuana, drugs, etc
- Content with aggressive elements, hurting others like Hate speech
This free porn blocker extension can help to minimize your child’s access to harmful content, ensuring a healthy online environment for your child but at the same time, not invading their privacy rights.
What to do when your child accidentally/intentionally watches pornography?
If your child accidentally sees pornography, reassure them that they are not in trouble and that you will be happy they tell you about it. Then, try to understand what your child feels through some questions like:
- How do you feel when you see pornography?
- What did you do after seeing it?
Praise them for telling you and letting them understand that you are always there for them to answer any scary or confusing things.
If you catch your child watching porn, calm down first. Calmness will help you talk to your child in a caring and informal way, then your child will not be negatively affected by angry words from his parents. They feel supported and have confidence that they can talk to you at any time about scary or confusing things.
Give your child empathy that sexual curiosity is perfectly okay. Then, explain what the porn is and why it’s not good for children (as mentioned above). It’s important to emphasize that there’s nothing wrong with sex, it’s just for adults, not for kids.
Wise modern parents are always proactive in bringing the best for their children. To better protect your child from all porn sites, for all internet-connected devices your child use, you should pre-order Wifi Device, becoming the first parents to own the solution which 24/7 protects your kids from harmful websites. Best prices are always available for early birds!
Reference: Pornography: talking about it with children 9-11 years
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