I never stopped (I didn't encourage either, mind you) my kids from watching porn (Well not after they were in high school). It can distort expectations, but only if you let it. Now I get why parents wouldn't want their teens watching it. That should (imo) ultimately be up to them. I wanted my kids to grow up knowing they could feel comfortable coming to me about anything. I think it helped prevent any of them from becoming addicted to it. They're now all healthy happy adults, and most of them are happily married (and the youngest is getting married this month, so that'll be all of them). It wouldn't work for everyone, it did work for me. My kids never felt the need to hide anything from me. I felt it was more important for them to be safe when it came to sex, and for them not to feel shameful of it. Especially since I had kids when I was so young myself. If I hadn't, I imagine I'd have done things differently.
How much privacy you give your kids... that's up to you. I think some people might be mistaking 'too much privacy' with 'not enough involvement'. I'm trying not to make a fucking assumption here. But I think parents need to be involved with their kids. And I was always involved in my kids lives.
But when it comes to LGBT issues, and even Atheism you have parents who aren't going to accept that their child is 'normal'. Teens might not feel comfortable coming out to their parents. They might not want to say "I have an attraction to my gender" because they're afraid of what their parents might say. Or they might not want to tell their religious parents, "I don't believe in god." They want and need support, and sometimes parents won't give that. A lot of parents can be very judgmental, and teens should have someone they can go to and feel safe talking about these things without fear of their parents going apeshit on them.
If you're going to monitor your kids internet (and you should have that right), they should know that they are constantly being monitored, so if they do seek help they can seek it without worrying about outing themselves. LGBT teens are at great risk for homelessness and suicide. Unaccepting parents don't help. Teens need to know if they're going to out themselves.
How much privacy you give your kids... that's up to you. I think some people might be mistaking 'too much privacy' with 'not enough involvement'. I'm trying not to make a fucking assumption here. But I think parents need to be involved with their kids. And I was always involved in my kids lives.
But when it comes to LGBT issues, and even Atheism you have parents who aren't going to accept that their child is 'normal'. Teens might not feel comfortable coming out to their parents. They might not want to say "I have an attraction to my gender" because they're afraid of what their parents might say. Or they might not want to tell their religious parents, "I don't believe in god." They want and need support, and sometimes parents won't give that. A lot of parents can be very judgmental, and teens should have someone they can go to and feel safe talking about these things without fear of their parents going apeshit on them.
If you're going to monitor your kids internet (and you should have that right), they should know that they are constantly being monitored, so if they do seek help they can seek it without worrying about outing themselves. LGBT teens are at great risk for homelessness and suicide. Unaccepting parents don't help. Teens need to know if they're going to out themselves.
