Internet Awash with Porn ::gasp::

There's been quite a bit of hubbub about internet porn the last few days. In fact, the Senate decided it's time to step in and save our children from the evil of porn. Maybe I'm the exception, but I really don't have many problems "stumbling" across porn on the internet. If I go looking for it, I can find it without any problem. Encountering it, however, is rarely accidental.

This internet porn thing seems like yet another instance where parental responsibility is being overlooked. Isn't it a parent's job to monitor their children? If they can't watch them all the time, which they clearly can't, shouldn't they be talking to their kids about appropriate behavior, about what's right or wrong for their particular family? Truth be told, I can't imagine a bit of porn will severely scar a teenager for life. In fact, I bet most teenage boys have stumbled across a father's, or maybe older brother's, hidden stash of porn magazines. Where's the government!? The government should be regulating paper porn in the home! Sheesh.

Get a clue, people. Insulating your childern from what you consider the unsavory parts of life isn't the solution. Sit down with your kids and talk to them about expectations. If you don't want your kids looking at porn, talk to them about it. Talk to them about why you don't want them looking at sexually explicit material. Of course, my position assumes that a parent is mature enough to actually discuss issues of human sexuality with his or her child. If your child violates your "ban" on porn in the home, ground them from the computer for a week. Increase the grounding on subsequent infractions. That's called a natural consequence: if you can't use the internet responsibly, you lose internet privileges. If you find out a child has been viewing porn at a friend's house, your child gets grounded from visiting for a while. I'd also probably call the other parent(s) and let them know what the kids have been doing. I'd avoid a confrontation with the parent and keep the conversation strictly informative.

Let's quit asking the government to pick up the slack for poor parenting.