My oldest son, who is 10, casually shared with my wife and I that his friend is looking at porn on his computer. He said, “Jack told me that he pretends to be asleep when his parents come to his room to tuck him in at night. After they leave he turns on his computer and looks at porn.”

I am amazed every time I hear an example like my son shared of parents who are either unconcerned or unaware as to the various influences competing for residence in their children’s minds. Here are some stats:

Americans aged 13 to 18 spend more than 72 hours a week using electronic media—defined as the Internet, cell phones, television, music and video games.

87% of all teens are online.
1 in 7 youths received sexual solicitation online.
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old.
15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures - 80%
8-16 year olds having viewed porn online - 90% (most while doing homework).
7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address - 29%
7-17 year olds who would freely give out email address - 14%
Children's character names linked to thousands of porn links – 26% (Including Pokemon and Action Man.

- Source www.xxxchurch.com

I am thankful that our kids can openly speak to us about issues, such as pornography, without shame or concern about getting into trouble. This openness is the result of my wife and I intentionally taking some simple, common-sense steps to both protect our family and explain what the protection is about as it pertains to the internet.

The three steps we employ as a family are very basic:

1. We keep our computer in a high traffic area of our home (kitchen/sitting room) 

• If our kids run into trouble we are always around to help
• There are no computers in any of the bedrooms, tucked away in any remote part of the house or behind closed doors

2. We use Internet filtering software called www.safeeyes.com 

• It helps our family avoid unsolicited porn traffic
• It protects our family from ending up on sites (whether on purpose or not) that are harmful to the healthy development

3. We have rules for appropriate Internet usage

• Boundaries are helpful especially at the outset and while a family is young so that habits are formed and this becomes the way we relate to the internet as a family
• There are a lot of helpful uses for the internet but even too much of a good thing ceases to be a good thing before too long

Captain Stephen Wiseman and his wife, Leslie, have spent 12 years in full-time ministry with The Salvation Army. Stephen serves as Chaplain at East Village Mission in Calgary, and is planting a House Church network in his neighbourhood. He has three children.