As believers, one of our jobs is to pray that God’s will would be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
So friends, we must pray. Pray for the innocence of our children, pray for the healing of our sexual lives, pray that those who are trapped in the industry would be freed.
You can snag my free prayer resource to help you get started by clicking here.
2) Get a good internet filter
We can’t put our heads in the sand and pretend this issue doesn’t exist. Not putting guidelines on our child’s internet use is like taking them into a war zone in beach clothes.
So far our family has depended on the free filters that come with Google, YouTube, and Netflix, without incident. However, we just purchased a Circle to up the ante a bit. Several of our friends use and love this product.
(PS The Circle is on sale from Black Friday to Cyber Monday!!)
BUT WE CAN’T STOP HERE.
Most articles on this topic will stop right here. They’ll tell you to buy a good service and let that do the work.
My friend, it is a mistake to believe that technology is going to save you from technology.
ANY filtering software you buy can be hacked or bypassed by a motivated teen, and there’s nothing to stop them from simply using someone else’s device.
We must also teach our kids to develop an internal filter.
That part of the brain may not be fully developed, but it’s still there, and it can be trained.
3) Teach healthy sexuality, starting VERY young
I’ve heard a lot of parents with 10 year olds who haven’t said anything to their kids about sexuality yet. I’m going to give you a little tough love here: that is a mistake. (but there’s still hope! Keep reading!)
Whether your 10 year old is homeschooled, Christian schooled, or public schooled, they have heard dirty words and been curious about them. They may have even seen pictures or pornographic movies already. They might have a friend down the street who’s shown them the interesting stuff that can be googled. There might be a kid on the bus or even at church who wants to show off what he learned from his older cousin.
So what can be done?
We need to open up conversation in our homes, teaching our kids that this is no longer the taboo subject that it was when we were kids. We need to teach kids that sexuality is a good gift from God, but we need to do this in age-appropriate ways.
I have researched a lot of books and resources, trying to find the best ones for my own family, and for those in my church, and the books and courses from Intoxicated On Life are the absolute BEST. They’re even endorsed by the CEO of Covenant Eyes. Yes, they’re that good.
OK, so you’ve got your 3 points of action. You’re going to start praying intentionally (snag your prayer resource here), you’re going to install a filter (like this one), and you’re going to get talking about sex with your kids in an age-appropriate way so that it becomes safe conversation in your house. Get it? Got it. Good. Let’s do this together.
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This article originally appeared at ChristieThomaswriter.com.
