ITS TIME WE TALKED
As a school we are very much aware of the rising levels of sexting, and the easily accessible online world that our girls must navigate.听 Body and self-esteem issues, respectful relationships and student safety are all offshoots of a quick click society.听听Today鈥檚听newsletter highlights some of the online parenting resources that you as parents can use to assist you with those difficult discussions.听
A wide range of information is available to parents online to help you understand the issues associated with pornography, sexting and听cyber safety听and support your children effectively.听 Here is a brief summary of some sites and interesting articles.听
SEXTING & CYBERSAFETY听
Esafety
A great first stop for parents is:
Bully Stoppers.
Parent resources, including advice sheets on issues such as sexting, inappropriate content and social media: 听
Media Smarts听
Information on a range of cyber issues, including pornography, cyberbullying and gender representation.听 Includes tip sheets, e-tutorials for parents and educational games introducing young people to key ideas in听digital听and medial literacy.听
Are you web-aware? Checklist for parents:
Think U Know?听Information to help you understand the online activities young people engage in:
Developing a family agreement or set of rules for technology use. Examples of family online rules or agreements: and听
PORNOGRAPHY听
It鈥檚 time we talked website听
Created as part of the community education project Reality & Risk:听 Pornography, young people and sexuality, the website provides information about pornography including parent tip sheets:
听
鈥楬ow to talk to your teens听about pornography鈥�听
Despite the absence of definitive research linking pornography exposure during adolescence to negative outcomes for teenagers and noted the ethical impossibility of conducting the kinds of studies that might prove, or disprove, such links. In spite of the lack of evidence of harm, researchers feel uneasy about the messages teenagers might take from pornography and suggested that 鈥渁t a minimum鈥� parents should be talking with their teenagers about sexuality in general and porn in particular:
