REDMINUTE No. 9

Fight the New Drug’s Clay Olsen answers the question “How do I speak to a teen who has been viewing porn?”

Parents need to understand that their kids are growing up in a completely different world to the one they grew up in. Teens today are seeing sexualised messages on billboards, media that normalises sexual behaviour and pornography and they have access to it all 24/7 via the phone in their pockets.

The most important thing to remember is to stay calm about it where the first reaction can be to get angry or upset. Stay calm, don’t judge, respond with love and understanding. If they can do that then teenagers are much more likely to open up and share what they’re dealing with, while being prepared to continue the conversation. This is essential for the teen getting a healthy understanding of what sexuality looks like and what real love looks like.

Stay calm, don’t judge, love them.

Clay Olsen is from Fight the New Drug, an organisation that works with students in schools across the USA to educate them about porn and encourage them to take a stand.