How Young Is Too Young To Be Watching Porn On The Web?

Is 12 too young? At what point do you freak out when you find out what web sites your son has been looking at? Does anyone do Net Nanny? Is that a bit pearl-clutching? I could see having that for a 6-8 year old. They're just going to go to a friend's house to see this crap anyway. Should you have a frank discussion about the internet? How do you shield kids from internet porn, and should you? We used to put locks on our cable boxes, and it was very difficult for kids to bring porn magazines into the house with no one finding out. You can't do that anymore. Kids today know how to get around internet locking software anyway. I'm not a prude, but parents have got to place boundaries. No one wants their kids afraid to come to them about sex related information and/or advice. If you think your parents are anti-sex, that could lead kids to explore dangerous forms of sexual activity and rebel. You just don't want to make things worse. Anyone have kids here? On a totally unrelated note, does Net Nanny block out any gay-related articles or content, non-pornographic? Is it made by a Christian organization?

12 is too young to be watching porn, OP.
Allow me a minute of "Kids today" but I worry about the type of gross porn readily available to kids today. The worst we ever saw was Hustler and we had to go treking throw the woods to find it in some abandoned hobo camp. Kids nowadays just have to sit at a computer and see some really vile, violent and degrading garbage. I'm no Andrea Dworkin but some of that gonzo porn is just terrible for anyone's mind, let alone a child's.
[quote]Is 12 too young? My god, if you're asking that seriously, please get therapy.
Is the 12 year old viewing it, or performing in it? Mos def TOO YOUNG for the latter. As for the former, for God's sake have the frank discussion with the child.
r3, are we suppose to put Net Nanny on a 12 year olds computer? Seriously, think about the age in which we live. Should we get bent out of shape if a 12 year old is looking? Like I said, I can understand jumping through hoops to protect someone who is younger. Quite honestly, I fear more about violence on the web. There are videos that even sociopaths would find extreme. I just don't know how to control technology, and not have your kid rebelling and getting into trouble because of it. They have iPhones now too. I'm having to have conversations about not sexting for christ's sake!
No internet-connected computers in a kid's room before they are 18. Keep Google's "safe search" on STRICT. No TVs in a kid's room before they are 18. That's what "family rooms" are for.
I agree with R6. Communal TVs and PCs make it easier to limit both content and time wasted.
My family got internet connection when I was 12. Soon afterward I began looking for pictures of bodybuilders since they were the guys I was attracted to. When I was 13 I accidentally looked at gay porn. I didn't know that kind of stuff existed before. Pictures of bodybuilders satisfied me so I didn't look at gay porn regularly until I was 16. It's normal. People don't want to think about kids that young having sexual appetites.
I would certainly think 6-8 is too young. 12 is also a bit young, but realistically by the time kids get to that age, particular boys, they are going to start looking at naked photos and videos. I don't think they should look at a lot of hard-core material at that age, and I certainly didn't, but you can't really stop them in today's world. It's basically normal for 12-13 year old boys to begin looking at porn. They will find it at one friend's house if computer access is prevented at another house, and so on.
I stopped my 13 year old daughter watching True Blood recently. Hadn't realised just how explicit it was until a friend pointed it out. I just thought vampires = Twilight, which she also loves. Wanted to watch Queer as Folk too, but it was definitely no to that. She has a computer in her room and my partner and I keep an eye on her, but it's probably not enough. She's at the age where she's curious. It freaks me out to think of what she might see, or has seen.
Yeah, if you're old enough to jack off, you're old enough to look at porn. How is it going to hurt?
It's a terrible world where children are two clicks away from seeing adults performing every sex act there is instead of having the freedom and creativity to invent them for themselves. Every young virgin nowadays manages to be inexperienced and jaded at the same time. Their outraged squealing as they attempt to escape sounds canned and inauthentic.
We're living in a totally different world today. You can't stop young kids from seeing sex. In the days when there was no Internet, boys had to hope they could unearth their father's or older brother's Playboy magazines somewhere in the house or get an older friend to buy one in a store and so they had very little access to porn on the whole. Nowadays any kid can see hardcore porn with the touch of a button. There was even an article recently which discussed the fact that young kids today already are familiar with terms like creampie, double vaginal, reverse cowgirl etc. that would have been unheard of just a generation ago.
I think I saw a Playboy (not full-frontal) when I was 12 or 13. Gay hardcore porn that I found in the rafters of an office where I was working (WHY was it there?) when I was about 17. Any kid can go to Google images, turn off safe search, and see more porn in 5 minutes than I saw before I was 25.
Exactly, R14. That's just the situation I described above.
R13
you have to walk a fine line between being a parent and being a friend. be honest and of course you should have the sex talk like at 10 yrs old or sooner if they are ready. Im an uncle to a very smart and curious 8 yr old boy. He has computer class at his private school and has surprised me at how much he knows about computers, technology and websurfing. OP dont ingore it be frank clear and direct I mean its almost kind of like the same talk you have when a childs mom is pregnant and they ask- how, where and when is the baby coming. i was a teen in the 1990s and all we had was magazines and VHS videotapes and that was pretty much it, unless you were a straight guy and had a girlfriend and she put out.
but%20keep%20it%20age%20appropriate
12 is way too young. 14/15 is when I look the other way. 12/13 I wouldn't allow it. Just because it's normal to want to look doesn't mean as a parent I would cosign it and not keep them from it.
[italic]No internet-connected computers in a kid's room before they are 18. Keep Google's "safe search" on STRICT.[/italic] This is a very smart idea. Can you limit what kids can see on their iPhones?
I unknowingly had google safe search turned off on my iphone and was horrified at what showed up when I searched for something innocuous (I thought.) So yeah, kids can access porn via their iphones.
Hi, I'm 12. My mom doesn't know I watch porn. But how do you escape it? I don't think mothers realize what goes on in the classroom. You have to be extra careful with what you say, or people will turn it into a sex related joke. People talk about what websites they use for porn, people ask you if you watch it, in fact, there is not a single day, since I started high school, that I have not heard at least five sex related jokes. Boys, being boys, pretend to "hump" their mates. It's everywhere. My mom doesn't now it, my friends' moms don't know it - but it's still there. I have had a talk with my mom and uncle (me and my dad aren't exactly on good terms) and though I didn't speak of any sort of erotica with my mom, my uncle said that you can get it on free view and everything, and said it was fine. Bottom line: It's everywhere honey, at some point, your kid will probably find it.
Cynder
anything under 18
Not only is 12 too young OP, but the state could take your kids away for giving them full unsupervised access to some of this hard-core stuff especially after you discovered them watching it. Be very careful and please be a responsible parent.
Family%20Law%20Attorney
R20, if you are 12, you are not in high school, honey.
I'm never going to become a parent but I honestly wouldn't care if my adolescent child looked at porn. As long as it was nothing freaky like that Japanese octopus stuff or, God forbid, furrie porn.
r24, thank goodness you will not be a parent. permissive to a point of parental neglect is child abuse.
My lord, such provincial thinking. He's 12 and is masturbating and will soon be having sex. Of course he's interested in porn. And I wouldn't worry about the kinky stuff. If he's into scat or BDSM at his age, you've got bigger problems than internet porn.
I was jerking off twice a day when I was 12. I wish to god I had grown up in the internet era. I honestly don't think I'd have ever left the house.
R26 The point isn't that he shouldn't be interested in it - of course it is natural. The point is that there are healthier ways to stimulate a 12 year old at that stage of brain development than giving him free reign to consume as much online porn as he wants. As parents it is our responsibility to guide our kids' development and set them up for the best future where they will have free reign to make their own decisions. I know you think you're cooler-than-thou calling this "provincial", but as a real parent with real kids, I think it's cool to raise healthy well-balanced kids who can grow up and have fulfilling sex lives without the potential burden of overcoming a porn addiction at the age of 12 or 13.
Dad%20in%20Chief
[quote]No internet-connected computers in a kid's room before they are 18. Keep Google's "safe search" on STRICT. [quote]No TVs in a kid's room before they are 18. And don't forget to keep their genitals locked away in a box until they're 18. On their 18th birthday you can hand them the box and the key.
"How Young Is Too Young To Be Watching Porn On The Web?" I don't know, but I'm 64 and still way too young to see some of the porn that I have seen on the internet.
I'll never be a parent, but I wouldn't want my 12-year-old watching porn, either. I'd much rather he or she explore his or her sexuality, if they have one at that age, with their classmates. That might sound flippant, but real life sexuality is a process of give and take, and it's important to understand that sex has ramifications, and that people are not mere sex toys, as is easy to imagine if you're watching porn.
If I'd had access to online porn at 12 or 13 I'd have been on it all the time.
[quote]if you are 12, you are not in high school, honey. But note that R20 also said "mates" for friends, which Americans don't say. The person who wrote this is in the UK or Australia or some other anglophone country where maybe what's called "high school" is different than what we call it. On topic: if the boy is post-pubescent, he has a right to his own inner life, and that can include sexual thoughts and porn. Pre-pubescent: no way.
Forensic%20dialectologist
Im 25, I had full access to the web in my parents house since I was 10. I started viewing pornographic images on the web when I was around 14, but not porn vids though. Watching porn everyday wasnt worth the embarrassment if my parents or siblings found out, or if they found me watching it and masturbating to it. I think this is enough to keep most kids away from porn until college. I was really meticulous about covering my tracks online then, but this was before parents had so many options for monitoring their kids online habits.
Kids have iPads now. This has changed everything with respect to access to porn.
NO straight boy should watch straight porn EVER. That will save the girls that have to untrain them from the bullshit they learn from it.
Yeah, block porn until they're at least 16. I'm not a parent but I do imagine being a very liberal one, and I'd try to back off controlling my kid once they were a young adult, starting at 16. But younger than that they can still find images to jerk off too, fully clothed, shirtless, no actual nudity. I still collect pics without any actual nudity, so I know kids can get their rocks off without actual porn.
R28, as "a real parent with real kids," it's time to enter the real world. Kids, boys especially, will see porn, like or not. Instead of pretending you can stop it (you can't), you should explain that porn is a fantasy, and doesn'necessarily mirror realworld sex. And if you really want to be a responsible parent, you shouldacknowledge that kids as young as 12 are having sex and give your kids practical advice. Let them know that you're aware they are, or soon will be, having sex. And that, until they're responsible enough to have. safer sex, they should stick to oral sex. Less chance of disease transmission and no chance of pregnancy. No vaginal or anal until at least 16 or 18. (If you have sons, they should understand that oral sex is a two way street and it is better to give than receive.) You should then strongly suggest that when they're porn surfing, they take some time to check out some instructional videos on how to properly perform fellatio and cunnilingus. Then immediately march them right down to the doctor for injections of Gardisil.
Thanks for the advice, Mom.
R38 jerks off to Dr. Ruth fanfic
LMFAO
R40 what does that even mean?
It means you're a wannabe frau of the most useless variety, R41. Now go watch some online videos on how to artfully perform analingus and try it on yourself. If you get any shit stuck between your teeth send us a picture!
umm..parental controls??????? what a moron!!
Just like many porn sites say, "be 18 or be gone." So kids shouldn't be looking at porn on the web until they're 18. Even that's too young, but you can't fight City Hall forever.
[quote]young kids today already are familiar with terms like creampie, double vaginal, reverse cowgirl Oh, good - I'll look fr a young kid who can explain to me what they mean. Cream pie? Reverse cowgirl????
I see children in grade school watching a live donkey show. And I say to myself, "What a wonderful world!"
Louis%20Armstrong
R40 is too old to even remember what it's like to be young and horny. On the bright side, you're too ancient tohave young kids to fuck up with your antiquated views on sex.
On a related note, does it freak you out at all knowing your kid's cumrags end up in the family washing machine?
What R3 said, although I'm about 100% sure this OP is a troll.
I love how R20 claims to be 12 years old (but in high school--a prodigy!) yet addresses us as "honey". Because 12 year-olds today talk like drag queens or 1950s diner waitresses.
I've watched porn since I wad 12/13 around the time I discovered masturbation... So although many are saying 12 is too young it really depends on the individual's psychological development.
[quote]On a related note, does it freak you out at all knowing your kid's cumrags end up in the family washing machine? Cumrags must be a thing that eldergays used. I didnt even know what those were until I started reading this board. Most teenagers use papertowels or toilet paper, like the selfish, not environmentally concerned bitches they are! I know I did.
[quote]Just like many porn sites say, "be 18 or be gone." So kids shouldn't be looking at porn on the web until they're 18. Even that's too young, but you can't fight City Hall forever. "Even that's too young"? WTF?
[quote]Cumrags must be a thing that eldergays used. This made me laugh. I'm picturing R52 walking around with shards of Charmin attached to her glans after a heavy session watching reruns of Glee.
Kids today only have iPhones and iPads and access to the internet if their parents GIVE them these things. Your kid doesn't need a fancy phone with net access. Nor does he/she need an iPad. Hell, I wasn't allowed a TV or a phone in my room as a kid. God, morons are raising kids these days.
My child, Brayden, is a direct reflection of me. He WILL have an iPhone 5!
My mother was 14 when I was born. She went on to college and holds a great job. So did I. I would say, no it's not too young. Once the pubes come in, nature says you're ready for sex.
I'm a woman, and I started to look at pics of nude men online in the mid-90s when I was 11 or 12. I knew how to delete the history and stuff, and my parents didn't care anyway. I would get pop-ups and such for porn and watched a little male solo, but I actually didn't WANT to get too into it right then. So I didn't check back until my early 20s. But truth be told, a lot of kids in my middle school were having sex and being loud and obnoxious about it. (they were obviously playing with fire, but I think many of them turned out okay). But young sexuality mixed with our societal tendencies can result in iffiness, to say the least.
14!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!
R58 - you're a whore, darlin'.
Cheryl
R60/Cheryl- Riiiight. That's exactly why I set limits for myself and used good judgement as to when I was ready for what, regardless of what my friends were doing. Although, I expected nothing short of a stupid remark from you.
R58
I think 14 is the lowest age you should consider having a baby. It'd be cool to be 32 and have your kid all grown up and have it over with.
[quote]I think 14 is the lowest age you should consider having a baby. It'd be cool to be 32 and have your kid all grown up and have it over with. You are fucking insane.
[quote]I would say, no it's not too young. Once the pubes come in, nature says you're ready for sex. This fucked up reasoning isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of your 14 year old mother's parenting skills.
In some of the more obscure cultures, tween sex works out. In ours? Nah.
Look, i am 14 and started watching porn when i started high school. Some of my friends watch porn all the time whereas i watch it quite rarely. I don't see anything wrong with it because when you hit puberty that's what it does to you. You shouldn't let people before they hit puberty but afterwards its up to them! Some of you are being quite overprotective, like no phone, tv or internet. You can't stop popular stuff
No child should have a computer with internet access in their room. Computers (and TVs) should be in public rooms of the house. No cell phones until high school, and even then, lock them down enough to prevent "sexting". When they're 18, they can do what they want. Sure, they'll see porn somewhere , but it sure as hell won't be at your house.
[quote]I think 14 is the lowest age you should consider having a baby. It'd be cool to be 32 and have your kid all grown up and have it over with. You know, even going back to the 1600s, 18 was the age most girls got married. 14 would be in a rare case where the girl was orphaned and poor, and needed a stable home.
I thought there was general agreement on another thread that porn distorts what real sex is like. In that context, I'd say 14 is waaaaaay too young.
R62 is apparently a Mormon.
Kids and parents should be prepared to have the talk about what they (can or may) see in the media (and that includes the internet). The real problem here is when kids are exposed to adult material for whatever reason and they are surrounded by adults who have their own agenda or issue with the topic which most likely makes matters worse or at least more confusing for the kid.
As an actual parent I'd say you set the rules & the boundaries. It doesn't matter if they can actually go to their friends house to see & do whatever they want. Or as in the case with my child, practically a computer hacker. Your child needs to know what you find acceptable behavior and what not. And amazingly, they actually end up listening to you. So no to porn, no to drugs, no to alcohol, no to Tv in his room etc. Kids appreciate boundaries. You're their parent not their buddy. And all of you very permissive people on here are the same ones who complain when the kids run amok in public, throw tantrums, yell & scream and disturb you in restaurants, movies, planes etc. All that bad behavior is directly related to that permissive style of parenting that says 'they're going to do it anyways' so lets throw open the door.
That's really good question. I remember wanting to see naked bodies pretty young - but that was limited to by father's Penthouse, underwear ads in catalogs, and eventually a few Hustlers of my friends (where I was mysteriously mesmerized by the cocks in the woman-gets-fucked pictures). Hustler was probably the most hardcore thing I saw until college when I finally viewed video porn and had access to harder-core magazines. But, even then, just due to burden of having to seek it out, the the variety of born I had was pretty tame and the amount wasn't that impressive. Kids are so amazingly porn-spoiled these days (well, I guess adults are too). It's all right there, readily available. And, not just basic nude photos, but every sort of sex act, the hardest of hardcore, both gay and straight. And, the amount of free stuff is astounding - blogs, tubmlr, even the free area to pay sites. So, not only is "when" a good question, but also "what" given all the types of porn out there.