What’s an age-old question?
Whether or not to tell your children about sex?
Whether or not to get involved with someone of the opposite sex?
Whether or not to let your children watch television or go on the internet?
Letting your children watch television is usually a bad idea, but not always. Sometimes, it can be a good thing. When it comes to sex, though, especially if you’re a celebrity, it might be best to keep some things hidden.
New research from the United Kingdom indicates keeping secrets about sex, relationships, and the media can be risky for a parent’s mental health. The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, looked at more than 2,500 parents and their children. It found that parents who hid certain aspects of their lives from their kids had higher rates of psychological distress. Children whose parents kept secrets about sex had a 13% greater chance of experiencing psychological disorders compared to kids whose parents were open about sex.
Is it ever okay to keep secrets from your kids? That depends on the secret. If it’s something bad, like a parent who is an alcoholic or a dealer of any kind, then it’s probably not a good idea to keep those secrets from your children. If it’s something less harmful, like whether or not your parent has sex, it might be okay to keep those secrets from your kids. It’s all about what’s in your best interest. It’s never easy being a parent, but trying to decide what’s best for your kids can be the most stressful part of parenthood. For some parents, knowing their kids are watching porn has been an especially challenging issue. Parents in this situation can find it helpful to talk to a therapist or other professional who can help them navigate that dilemma.
Why Are Children Watching More Porn Than Ever?
It’s a common concern among parents: how to protect their children from harmful content online. This content can take many forms, from child pornography to adult content available via gaming platforms to even stranger things, like revenge porn or abusive content. Many platforms, like Twitter and YouTube, have launched entire parenting blogs, dedicated to helping parents keep an eye on what their kids are watching and learning online. In the past, this content would be hidden behind paywalls or require a paid subscription to see. Now it can be found on social media with the click of a button.
It’s not just the fear of children seeing porn that’s increased in popularity. It’s the prevalence of the content itself. Thanks to the rise of the ‘quant-genome,’ or the ability to easily mine large amounts of data, pornographers have been able to create incredibly lifelike virtual adults that can engage with users on a deeply personal level.
What’s more is that, in the past, porn was more likely to be available only in specific places, like adult bookstores or pornographic film theaters. Thanks to the rise of the ‘internet,’ however, pornographers have access to a potentially limitless audience and can target content to specific demographics. In 2014, for instance, PornHub, one of the largest porn sites, recorded 9.1 million daily unique visitors and 11.9 million monthly unique visitors. According to HubSpot Blogs’ analysis of Comscore data, in 2021, adult internet traffic in the United States was 71.5 million monthly visits compared to 54.2 million monthly visits in 2019.
Children Are Different
It might surprise you to learn that just because your child is older than a toddler doesn’t mean they understand all topics. In fact, when it comes to sex, some children are still very, very young. It helps to take this into consideration when determining if and when to withhold information from your kids. The best thing you can do for your children is to be honest with them. When they are young, they will learn to be less trusting of adults, so it’s essential that you set the example by being honest and open. If you want to keep certain information about sex away from your kids, the safest course of action is to be honest with them from the start. If you’re worried about them seeing something you don’t want them to see, you can create a private area on your device where they can’t access certain apps or websites. You might also consider paying for a premium porn site tailored to adults only or creating a private area in a gaming platform where adults can engage in whatever consensual activities they want, with no children allowed.