Richard and Linda Eyre suggest this metaphor for parenting which seems to suggest that we cannot totally shield our children from exposure to disease-causing viruses of various societal ills and evils. Rather, many of our teaching strategies must aim at trying to build immunities into our children. It reminds me of an old Chinese proverb that has served me well, which says, “Nakedness is often seen, but never looked at.”
The Eyres address teaching children to avoid pornography in this manner in an article this morning in the D-News called “Inoculating kids against the evils of porn” (a slightly modified version is on-line: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865589915/Porn-is-the-villain-so-what-is-the-hero.html?pg=all)
Here is their suggestion for helping a young person transform a sexual thought from negative to positive. Tell them,: “When you see or hear something sexual, just think for a moment how much more beautiful sex will be if you wait until marriage. Until then, look away and get away from anything less beautiful.”
Their advice is that talking to kids about sex in a positive, love-oriented way is much easier than using fear tactics. And when you keep it positive, you can have the “big talk” much earlier. In fact, they recommend the eighth birthday. “While it may seem counterintuitive, the fact is that the earlier and more frequently parents talk to their kids about sex, the later they will experiment or go to other sources.”
If you are interested, the Eyres provide more details about this approach on their website: www.valuesparenting.com/talktokids.php
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