Sexuality education for kids 5-8 years old is a good time because it is the right time. After all, this is the period when your child already knows the basics of gender and has related questions about it. Also, your kids start using an Internet-connected device.
When using the Internet, there are thousands of risks trying to harm your children, among them pornography. However, not any information will be effectively understood by this age group, the article below will show you how to talk to your child about sex (age 5-8) appropriately and effectively.
Is it too early to talk to your child about pornography?
Children aged 5-8 often access pornography mainly online, including on television and online streaming services. Huge resources about porn movies on the internet, a fast internet connection and a smartphone mean your kids can watch it quickly and easily.
At the age of 5-8, 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 sex, so it is never too early to educate them about pornography and you need to select the necessary information. can better comprehend information.
Guide on teaching kids about sex
Make an initiate an birds and bees talk
As well as teaching children (9-11 years old) about pornography, before you jump straight into defining pornography, you can kick off an informal conversation with a few questions like:
- Have you heard of nude images?
- What have you heard about these types of images?
- Do your school friends talk about these types of images?
- Have you ever seen pictures of nude adults?
- A lot of kids your child’s age are wondering about a nude adult, or who is having sex. Do you want to know anything?
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. If with 6-11-year-old kids, you could define pornography as 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.
But for more naive 5-8-year-olds who have not yet approached the outside world as much as 9-11, you can consider a different approach. Below is an example.
Pornography (pornographic content) is sexually explicit images or videos, typically pornographic content depicted by pictures of nude adults. Some adults love to see these pictures, but they are not intended for children. So I don’t want you to look at the pictures if you come across them.
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.
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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:
- 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.
- People don’t need consent from the other to have sex
- Porn shows that a sincere loving relationship is unimportant and unnecessary
How can you protect your child from pornography exposure?
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, how pornography harms your child, and teach your child what to do if they accidentally see explicit images, such as:
- Quickly look away or cover your eyes
- Turn off the screen
- Tell a friend or family member or teacher.
Ensure a safe online environment for children
As mentioned, talking is one of the best ways to help your child proactively stay away from porn, but don’t be subjective either as they can be very curious (especially when you’re not around).
So one of the best ways left is to install Internet content filtering to automatically block any images/ videos/ads that contain pornography or any other inappropriate content like bloody, accidents, self-harm, etc. so that they can study and explore in a safe and effective Internet environment, preventing your child from accidentally watching porn at home.
What to do when your child 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:
- Where did you see the picture – on the phone or elsewhere?
- How do you feel when you see the picture?
- What is it about the picture that makes you feel that?
- What did you do after seeing the picture?
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.
Reference: Pornography: talking about it with children 5-8 years
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