I actually saw this book, “Good Pictures, Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids” through a local Facebook group for homeschool moms.
Then I found out that someone has kindly uploaded their read-aloud of this book to YouTube…here it is!
This was what I thought a fantastic introduction to warning about, and explaining the concept of, pornography to children when they (hopefully) have not yet seen any examples of it.
While the book’s target audience is school-age, many moms have explained their experience reading this book to children as young as 4 (or even 2). Of course, this tended to be that they overheard it being discussed with older siblings. But even then, most moms talked about how positively even the little ones responded to the message.
If this happens, one mom said, they can participate, but since their understanding and maturity levels are still developing, it’s wise to revisit later when they’re a little older.
We’ve already talked about how some children are exposed to porn at 7 years and younger. While none of us would want our children exposed to porn that young, I also think all of us would prefer to be our children’s guides and mentors when it comes to explaining (and warning about) this subject.
Some other pointers:
- The book is written conversationally, with a lot of science-based information, graphics, and analogies that are perfect for young children. For example, they give the example of wearing a bicycle helmet to protect one’s head from getting hurt in the chance of a fall. In the same way, the example goes, we want to protect our head from getting hurt … in a different way from seeing pictures that can interfere with a child’s normal development and psychological well-being.
- One of the topics covered is never letting other people take pictures of you (the child) without clothes. In today’s sexting culture, this is especially important.
- Some parents may hesitate to bring up this topic in case it is “too early” for the child. While I understand the concern, I think this book does a good job of highlighting the dangers without making children overly excited or curious about pornography. As always, though, I recommend that parents read the book before sharing it with their child.
