Your Child Is Addicted to Pornography...Now What?

You could look at over a thousand different statistics and studies about pornography and children and the one statistic you will find each study has in common is this: 100% of children will have seen some form of pornography in their life by the age 12-15, and possibly even younger. How sad is that?

That's the hard part about the society we live in now. Pornography is unavoidable. It's in the shows that we watch, the video games we play, the music we hear, and in the books we read. You could do everything in your power to avoid all of these, and yet at some point, you will still come across some form of pornography. So with that being said, if YOU are unable to avoid it, more than likely your child will also be unable to avoid it, and therefore could potentially become addicted. 

So what do you do? What CAN you do?

The first thing that you can do is to not leave them alone in their fight, but to be there for them. 

In the book Shaking The Powers of Evil with Captain Moroni, we are retold the story of Teancum, in the Book of Mormon, going out alone to kill Ammoron. Although he was able to successfully kill him, he was unable to fully escape and was later killed. If we use Teancum as an example, if he had had help in his endeavor, he would have had a better chance at conquering evil and coming out alive. 

Similarly, our children have a better chance at fighting the enemy that is pornography if they have back up; people in their corner who aren't going to ridicule them, embarrass them, or even punish them for falling into the snares of the devil. This goes to the church leadership side of things as well.

Many youth are scared about the "ramifications" of talking to a bishop or church leader about their problems, when truthfully there is nothing that would bring the bishop more joy than to see a youth come forward and let them know they are struggling with pornography and need help. 

We need to foster a safe environment for our children so they know that they won't get in trouble for letting us know that they are struggling with sin. They need to know that we are there for them. They need to know that will be there to help them get out of this cycle, and come out victorious.

I believe that we would see a lot of youth trusting in their parents, their church leaders, and the Savior more if we fostered this kind of environment. 

So all in, think this all over. Your child will never be able to avoid pornography. It is is unfortunately impossible. With that being said, with your help and the Savior, they can escape it and learn how to live in a world where it exists everywhere. 

If you are wanting to help your children battle against other temptations that Satan throws at them, consider checking out the book Shaking The Powers of Evil with Captain Moroni currently available at cedarfort.com. It's an amazing book that will help fortify your child. Don't believe us? Check out this amazing review of the book!

“I love this book! As a parent of a teenager and with two more on the rise (yikes), I am constantly searching for ways to fortify their budding testimonies, defend them from temptation, help them become strong in the gospel, and help them to become genuinely good human beings. This book has added another arrow to not only my quiver but to my childrens’ as well. Sean Nobmann reintroduces well-known characters in a way that makes them funny, approachable, and real. We see them teach and liken the scriptures to themselves throughout the book, meaningfully expanding the scriptures without the reader even realizing it. I found myself entertained and buoyed up! It was full of new insights into well-known stories as well as memorable moments and phrases that will offer support and strength long after the book has been put down. Thank you for writing this!”

—BRIAN NEAL CLARK, father, husband, film and stage actor, singer, and interior designer