If you are dealing with a teenager at home, you might need guidance on those awkward moments that you face seeing your kid watching inappropriate content. You need to prepare yourself before it happens, by reading this article you will know that how can you protect your child from inappropriate content.
When the kids are left alone with their devices, their minds can wander in various directions. Children at this vulnerable age are curious to look for something new and exciting. As parents, we are always vigilant of what they are watching, but even with the best intentions, we cannot be always on the top of their heads checking on them. Your innocent kid might be just playing on a free art app when they fall to click on a pornographic video. Our response to such incidents matters a lot and leave a huge impact on our kid’s mind.
What is Inappropriate Content?
Inappropriate Content is any media that creates a negative impact on a child’s social, emotional, and physical development.
Some of the major examples of inappropriate content include, but are not limited to:
Each child tends to grow differently. As a parent, it is our responsibility to know our kids and help them define inappropriate content for their stage of growth and development.
There are a lot of questions that come to our mind like, “what do I tell them?” Or “how much am I supposed to tell them?”
Parents always feel that they might make their teens uncomfortable or frighten them. Parents of teenagers also have questions in their minds about whether they should speak to their kids about pornography and sexual content. The answer to that question is a big ‘YES’.
Here are some ways to tell your kids about online content they might not be ready to see.
1. Stay Calm
It can be very upsetting to see that your kid has been exposed to some objectionable content. But your reaction can make a huge difference in their actions. They will always have a huge impact on their minds. You must acknowledge their feelings without prior judgments. You must start broad and get to the specifics only if it is required. you can use this opportunity to shape their beliefs and values constructively. Anger will lead to disastrous outcomes, instead try to stay calm and maintain peace with the situation. This will show your kid that the situation is under control and there is no need to panic.
2. Ask Questions first
Try to understand, what did your kid see. Try to relate to what they thought they saw, and most important thing how they felt about it. You must acknowledge their feelings without any type of judgment. Try to normalize their body parts so that there is no fear or embarrassment. This helps in decreasing the feeling of distress among the kids. Make them aware of the stories that are posted online which aren’t real. Make sure you don’t give too many details to avoid raising thoughts in a child’s mind that they didn’t have previously.
3. Keep it Real
It is very necessary to make them aware of the unhealthy or unrealistic messages that pornographic videos can often convey. It is very essential to inform teenagers about the perils of pornography, especially focusing on the message that pornography is not a healthy, consensual relationship. It is very essential to touch on some topics like consent, respect, assertiveness, positive body image, trust, and discouragement of other pornographic attributes like violence and unhealthy body image.
4. Set Parental Control Apps
Once you have the conversation with them, you must understand how they found the content to avoid such chaos in the future. You must keep an eye on the kid and filter out such content. For teenagers, it is best to use a parental control app that helps in blocking any inappropriate content on your kid’s phone.
To Sum Up
Inappropriate content is everywhere, we need to not only prepare our kids for what they might face but also give them knowledge about the importance of the appropriate content. We should never punish or shame our kids but should focus on their experiences so that we can help them in some healthy ways.
