How can I protect my daughters from porn?

I am a mother of two teenage girls and I am stressed about them but more so their exposure to adult content. I have even been monitoring the websites they frequent on our home computer and found many unpleasant things. I am afraid that they are getting exposed to inappropriate content at a very young age and I feel that I should do something to protect them. I have thought about talking to them but I really don't know where to start. They already have boyfriends but only God knows what goes on behind closed doors or when I am not around. I need some help on how to approach these girls and protect them from our society which has many kinds of people including immoral sex pests who are out to take advantage of our young and innocent girls. How can I play a role in protecting my daughters against such dangers?{Dorothy}

Your Take:

That is a difficult predicament but I encourage you to take time to understand your daughters and lead them the right way. Develop a friendship with them and more help them understand consequences of their actions. You may also get a counselor for them to advise them accordingly.

{Ojou Robert}

If you fear telling them the truth then you are failing in your responsibilities. Do not baby them anymore but have them use the computer only under your supervision. You may also try to use their teachers and the church minister to help you but remember you hold the key.

{Tasma Charles}

Get an IT technician to block access to adult sites on the computer. Talking to them constantly and giving them the right guidance is what may eventually help them although though this may take time.

You may also consider engaging their favourite auntie to advise them accordingly aunts who include paternal and maternal, priest and other professionals who will from time to time advise them appropriately. With proper guidance, the girls are safe.

{Ouma Ragumo, Sifuyo}

Teenagers are today are more sexually aware and savvy than we were at their age. However, It is wrong to assume an adolescent can’t make a sound decision when caught up in such situations. If they are shown “how to”, they can deal with such things better.

Talk to them about sex and sexuality and give them the opportunity to express themselves and ask questions. Lastly, assure them of your love and trust. Stay neutral on such issues because teenagers are greatly attracted to that which is being forbidden to them.

{Andrew Didy Chaplin}

Talk to your girls about sex and the consequences. Sometime it helps when you give them a video on STIs which will clearly point out the consequences of careless sex and it may get them on the right track.

Last ask them to be open to you and to share such materials with their friends (including boyfriends) then they will all be in the know and may be more careful with their lives.

{Onyango Outha}

Your teenage girls need strong and clear instructions of the new developments in their bodies and if you don’t provide these they may seek answers elsewhere. Let them know the advantages of keeping their purity up to the right time and this should be followed by you standing as a role model to them with a good character. Every single advice you give to them will ring in their minds whenever they make a decision.

{Charles Olanya}

These girls are all that you have and it is your role to give them directions in life. If you cannot face them, invite a close friend to talk to them so that they are getting the right kind of advice from the right source. If you don’t act now, it will be difficult to act in future.

{Fred Jausenge}

Counselor’s Take:

Yes, there is just too much adult content around and many parents just like you are concerned about this. This content includes excessive use of nudity to depict otherwise general scenes or explicit pornographic material in aspects of life where it is unnecessary.

Due to the advent of technology, this content is more easily available. Our society is becoming interestingly sexualized. Sex is becoming engraved in every aspect of our lives including dressing, lifestyle and communication e.t.c.

Many parents have shared with me similar concerns and the harder they try to control it, the deeper it gets and the wiser these young people become. Young people are curious about life and, yes, this includes adult content and sexual activities.

When you try and block this curiosity, they become even more creative such that you are put on an endless rat race. These people are curious and so whatever you do should align itself and address the existing curiosity rather than try to suppress it.

To effectively address this issue, you need to open that discussion with them and this is indeed the right time to do it. This is often very difficult for many parents but it is something that has to be done. Talk to them openly about sex and assure them that it is OK to be curious and to address that curiosity the right way.

This ought to be done in a rather unusual approach which may involve even opening the sites that they have been visiting on the internet and explaining to them especially the cons of doing this.

Give them ultimate freedom to visit any site but highlight the negative implications which include greater exposure to sex, STIs including HIV and even unwanted pregnancies. This has worked for many teenage children for many reasons.

You see when you block the sites on the home computer, they now have smart phones which provide even more access. Again, they can go to cyber cafe’s. Giving them freedom and showing them what they wanted to see kills the curiosity and they no longer see anything fascinating in such things.

 Address their curiosity the right way. You don’t know who else will and what their intentions will be for your young and vulnerable children. {Taurus}