As much as we would like to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that pornography isn’t an issue, that’s simply not an option for deliberate mothers.
But there’s great news!
Teaching and protecting our children has never been more doable.
Listen to this powerful, inspiring podcast with Kristen Jenson, author of Good Pictures Bad Pictures, for specific ways to take action in your home today that will protect your children for a lifetime.
- You’ll hear about Kristen’s book–an illustrated children’s book that teaches children how to protect themselves from the addiction of pornography (I’m sure you’re wondering how on earth she wrote this–while keeping it totally appropriate for young children, but preparing them to counteract material that is anything but…)
- You’ll learn how to set up a media policy for your children (and hear what ages she recommends children be given access to internet devices)
- You’ll receive great information on why children need to be warned early about pornography
- And you’ll leave the podcast armed with really specific, really comfortable ways to start the conversation with your children.
This isn’t “just a podcast.” This is critical information that deliberate mothers everywhere need to hear. Please share this page with as many friends as you can. You just never know whose family you will help.
QUESTION: Do you have any other favorite books, links, or resources that have helped you to protect your children from pornography?
CHALLENGE: Make it a priority to listen to this podcast sometime in the next week, and then take five minutes to record your next steps to protect your own family.
Show Notes:
Kristen’s Book:
GOOD Pictures BAD Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids
Her Websites/Recommended Links:
www.goodpicturesbadpictures.com
http://goodpicturesbadpictures.com/videos/
Kristen’s Articles:
First article in the “SMART Parents Article Series”
How does pornography negatively affect marriages?
Your Child Has Viewed Porn, Now What? 5 SMART Tips for Parents
Internet Safety: Three Tips for Parents Before Giving Kids an iPad, Tablet or Smartphone
Can Soft-Core Porn Damage Your Child’s Brain?
Review and commentary of Good Pictures Bad Pictures by Catherine Arveseth
Review and commentary of Good Picture Bad Pictures by Becky Edwards
Interview Breakdown:
0:27 April’s introduction: how deliberate moms can help each other to save children all over the world.
3:32 Tell us a little about your read-aloud children’s book Good Pictures Bad Pictures and why kids love it. (April shares her feelings about how comfortable the book is for parents to read to kids.)
6:14 Why do young kids need to be warned about pornography?
7:20 Tell us how the book uses brain science to defend sexual integrity.
10:28 What compelled you to write a children’s book about pornography?
17:25 How did you write a book about pornography without using the word “sex”? (And why is it important to warn kids about pornography even before they fully understand human intimacy?)
19:45 How do you define pornography for a child? What is it? And, maybe more importantly, how does it make them feel?
25:38 Why is a child’s brain more vulnerable to pornography than an adult’s brain? (Don’t miss April’s story about seeing a media violence experiment done with children—so eye-opening!)
30:47 Give us some specific ways to open a conversation about pornography with kids.
38:51 How do you teach that sex is good but porn is bad?
41:19 April’s story that highlights how using porn can cause sexual dysfunction in males.
43:55 Tell us some specific tips for dealing with technology to keep our kids safe.
53:32 What parting advice can you share to help moms empower their kids to reject pornography?
Click Here to view a PDF summary of the podcast.
Music from Creations by Michael R. Hicks.
Audio Editing by Christy Elder
Kristen A. Jenson grew up in Cheyenne Wyoming, Boston Massachusetts, and lots of places in between. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a master’s degree in Organizational Communication. She enjoys speaking, blogging, traveling and teaching and never wants to stop learning. Kristen currently lives with her husband in Washington State, where she enjoys growing a vegetable garden and taking long walks with her extremely cute Schnauzer-Poodle named Blackberry. Above all else, her husband and three children are her greatest treasures.
This is so wonderful and empowering. It gives me hope to help my three boys with this hugely important issue of protecting ourselves against pornography.
Really, really loved talking with April about protecting kids! I know deliberate moms everywhere will want to face this issue head-on so their kids don’t have to face it alone. Thanks, Power of Moms!
I LOVED this episode of Power of Moms. Thank you so much for bringing this topic of pornography to the forefront and helping us to find tools to arm our children and families with! Bless you for your efforts for families!
This was the first episode of Power of Moms that I have heard. I am impressed that you took on such a difficult and important topic. April, you asked fantastic questions. Kristen, I loved your point at the end that we (as moms) need to step up and talk to our children so that they do not have to try to deal with pornography exposure on their own. I agree that if kids are given tools/training, they can learn to protect themselves from and reject pornography. Kids need to learn how porn can damage/alter their brain so they understand WHY it is important that they make the choice to avoid it. It is certainly not intuitive that looking at a picture can hurt your brain!
Wow, I haven’t known how to bring this up with my son. Thanks! I’m totally getting this book.
Thank you for these amazing resources! This topic has been on my mind, and you’ve given me the tools to get going and keep my family safe and informed. I appreciate it!
We use K9 Web protection for our computer. It’s free. I am totally excited about the book and I was glad to hear some of the advice to password protect anything that can access the internet. I never thought about password protecting our Xbox.
I plan on buying the book. Is there a link we can use to Amazon so that PowerofMoms can benefit from the purchase?
Thanks, Ashley!
All book links on our site go through our Amazon store, so if you just click a link in the post, it will give us credit. Thanks!!
This was one of the best podcasts that you’ve ever produced. Thank you for addressing a topic that isn’t always easy to talk about in such a positive and helpful way. I feel empowered today! This is why I love Power of Moms so much! I really appreciate all your hard work!
Thanks so much for your kind words and support, Angie! So glad to have you with us, and we appreciate you being such a champion for Power of Moms. (We love this community…)
Loved this podcast. I had previously purchased the book but I love hearing more about it and connecting with the strategies. You asked about filters, we use Pandora’s Hope router and I love it. You have time controls as well as content control and I love that is works for any device that uses our wifi.
Loved this podcast although it took me a while to be ready to listen to it! My family and friends have been affected by pornography with many heartbreaks and unhealthy doses of fear and feeling powerless. I’d purchased the book last spring for my family and it is truly a great resource! Thank you, Kristin Jensen!!! Over the past decade it’s been on my heart often to educate myself and to perhaps reach out to my community in some way to share good information and resources with youth and parents. I’m all about empowering families! I am curious to know from the author and perhaps April if anyone has ever done a round robin of workshops for families on this topic in their church or other communities. I’m thinking of forming a council of sorts to spearhead this idea.
Topics to address:
– Understanding how pornography is the new drug, how it works on our brain and other bodily systems
– Distinguishing what a challenge vs addiction looks like
– How/what to teach our kids and youth, how to start conversations
– How to teach and frame healthy sexuality for children and youth
– Becoming acquainted with available tools and strategies to filter or set curfews and family rules on our family devices
– Forms of help available ecclesiastically and professionally for youth, adults or family members who want or need help.
I don’t know if this kind of thing has been put together, Tracie, but it’s a phenomenal idea. Maybe you could email Kristen and ask her about things she’s seen done through churches, schools, families, etc. Thanks for your wonderful comment!
I’m a little late to the party here, but I loved this podcast! April, we are a big fans of audiobooks for kids at bedtime too. We got a Bluetooth speaker for our iPad that our son brings into the room with him, while the iPad stays with us.