90% of children, aged 8 to 16 have viewed internet pornography
Let me just repeat this in other terms: If you have a child over the age of 8, he or she has probably already had at least one exposure to hard core, sexually explicit material via the internet. (The average age of exposure to adult material is eleven! )
There’s an 80% chance that he or she has had multiple exposures and 1 in 5 children have received a sexual solicitation online.
While vigilant parenting is most definitely helpful and essential, there is no way that any parent can be 100% ahead of the game, especially considering the following:
*About 1 out of every 10 websites, worldwide, contains sexually explicit material
*Most first exposures to porn happen while innocently doing homework.
*2.5 billion sexually explicit emails are sent daily
*26 childrens’ characters names, such as Pokemon, Action Man and Raggedy Ann, are linked to thousands of pornographic websites
*Pornographic webmasters have purchased thousands of domains similiar to those most visited by children.
*Facebook, MySpace,Twitter, High 5 and almost all chat services are regularily infiltrated by those looking to solicit sex from minors.
*(statistics courtesy of ABC, The Pew Internet & American Life Project and The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
I don’t want to scare anyone, but we definitely have an epidemic on our hands..and it’s affecting our children in the worst way. It’s opening them up to all sorts of emotional, developmental issues and its opening the door to exploitation.
But all is not lost. Some of us are still putting up the good fight..and with hope, there’s a chance.
Here are 4 ways to child-proof your computer and keep your children from being exposed to internet porn:
1) Communicate with your children and tell them of the dangers involved in searching for sexually explicit material or in engaging in explicit conversations on the internet. Be frank and direct because, realistically, they have either already been exposed or know someone who has told them about such material.
2) Set internet viewing hours and place the computer in a public area of your house, such as the kitchen, dining room or living room.
3) Purchase a good internet porn blocker to make sure that your children don’t give in to temptation or accidentally access pornopgarphic material.
My recommendation is MyPornBlocker. It’s a simple, inexpensive computer software program that you can download directly to your computer. With it, you’ll be able to completely block all pornographic materials as well as potential danger zones such as Facebook, MySpace and all chat services. It takes a screen shot every couple of minutes and saves them in a directory, so you can double check what your children are viewing. Also, there’s search engine integration so that blocked sites won’t even be accessible via Google or Yahoo search.
MyPornBlocker works with all operating systems it runs in stealth mode, which means that your children won’t even know that it’s installed.
Best of all, though, instalation is easy and the program’s features are simple to use.( I just installed one on my local minister’s computer and if I could do it, anyone can- lol ). It’s really as simple as just clicking a button and the program installs and optimizes itself. There’s a 60 day risk free trial, so you can be sure that it does everything that it promises.
For more info on this porn blocker service, click here.
4) Create a circle of trusted friends who support your effort with their own children. You can breathe easier sending your children to do homework or spend the night at a friend’s house if you know that the other parents are also vigilant and have installed porn blockers for safety.
The internet is an essential tool for learning, but it can also be a deadly weapon used to create emotional disorders and/or open the door to exploitation. Be safe, be logical and always be vigilant.
For more information and/or To order MyPornBlocker, click here