Navigate conversations on explicit content with your teen. Meri Sehat offers insights for open communication about healthy intimacy and addressing concerns, fostering understanding.

How To Talk About The Effects Of Online Porn With Your Teenager

Exposure to a pornography at a very young age can be detrimental to the physical and emotional growth of your child. Get ahead of this while you can.

Overview

<a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/how-pornography-impacts-sexual-wellness">Pornography</a> has become quite commonplace and easily accessible in this day and age. If your child has access to the internet then it&rsquo;s inevitable that they&rsquo;ll either run into some pornographic material or will be the ones to look it up given their naturally curious natures. 

It&rsquo;s essential that as parent we get ahead of these matters in order to avoid any negative consequences down the line. There are certain actions that can be taken in order to ensure that your child doesn&rsquo;t accidently encounter these things such as putting a child lock and limiting access to certain contents on your devices but these can only go so far. 

Hence, it&rsquo;s more and more important that we have the &ldquo;porn talk&rdquo; with our children at the right time even though this discussion will definitely not be the easiest or most comfortable for either of you. 
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The Effects Of Online Porn

Conclusion

A methodical approach to this crucial talk can look like this: 
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<ul>
	<li>Discuss how sexual exploration is a normal and healthy part of their development, however the portrayal we see in pornography isn&rsquo;t either of these things. It&rsquo;s quite dangerous for this depiction to be their first encounter with sex and intimacy. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Educate them about the importance of safe and responsible sex and let them know that if they see anything disturbing they can always come to you about their confusions and questions. This needs to be a part of a larger discussion around sex and sexuality. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You can start by normalising healthy exchanges of affection and love such as parents sharing a kiss or a hug and by talking about sex in a simple and direct way without making it sound like it&rsquo;s something evil. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You don&rsquo;t have to worry about having to navigate such a conversation all on your own. There are various tools out there that talk about sex and sexuality and every single aspect of it in age-appropriate language. Exposing your children to this material can help them be more informed and make them feel safe around such discussions. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Talk about what pornography is, this may include letting them know that adults sometimes share grown-up pictures or media online and how these things are portrayed isn&rsquo;t what real life sex looks or feels like. This also helps ensure that their expectations around their own first encounters aren&rsquo;t skewed by pornography. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Another important aspect of pornography you must discuss is body image. Discuss how bodies depicted in these scenes aren&rsquo;t what real bodies look like. This helps the child feel okay with their own bodies and can ward of any body image issues they might be having. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>A lot of pornographic material blurs the lines around consent and boundaries. Make your child aware of this and discuss how this is a wrongful practice. It&rsquo;s crucial that the child understands how it&rsquo;s never okay to emulate or accept this in real life. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>It&rsquo;s also necessary to normalise sexual expression and make the child understand that their potentially positive reactions to pornographic material are normal. The factor of shame and dirtiness needs to be eliminated in these discussions since that might lead to the child keeping secrets from you regarding their activities. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Include safe sex practices in your discussion as well such as the use of condoms, proper lubrication and other forms of birth control. 
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	<li>And last but not the least, ensure your child feels safe to share any information with you. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

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