Breakfree
I have never really liked a particular Sunday school song that goes “Be careful little eyes what you see…”, usually this is sung with little kids who don’t have a choice about what their eyes are exposed to or what their ears can hear!
The older children get, however, the more intentional choices they need to make about what they choose to watch, or listen to. Our children will need to make choices about what they engage with on the internet. There is a high chance they may be exposed to pornography as the average age of first exposure in South Africa is 8 – 11 years old.
Break-free is a small, local NGO with a big mandate to help parents start the conversation about pornography. I spoke with Grant Edkins, one of the board members of Breakfree. The very exciting news is that Breakfree have recently purchased the license to print a narrative book “Good pictures, Bad pictures” by Kristen A. Jenson. I wrote about this book before, here. If (when) they get exposed, we want them to have tools to know what to do and who to talk to. “Good pictures, Bad pictures” is a non-threatening read, designed for a parent to read with a child and start the conversation.
The wonderful news is not only will the book be locally printed and available, but it will be translated into Zulu. Grant has a huge passion for spreading awareness about the impact porn has on young lives and the ease at which a porn addiction can start. He has started the conversation with his own children, that they would stay free from bad pictures, and not only that, be equipped with some tools to deal with seeing porn should that happen.
Our family has the book and we are slowly working our way through it. It is not a one-sitting type read, but rather more suited to digest in small doses. It includes information for parents, questions for discussion, space for reflection and a CAN DO plan – a nifty acronym to remember what to do if exposed to porn. Children may need to hear parts of the book more than once, as they develop and mature and as they have more questions. This particular book is suitable for ages 8 and up.
If you want to learn more you can find Breakfree at www.break-free.co.za. If this is something you want to invest in, you can email [email protected] to find out how to support their work. They also do talks at schools and churches. I attended an online workshop run by founders, Brendan and Kate Botha. What I loved about the workshop was that it was not a talk about “good people don’t look at bad pictures”, but rather an honest account by Brendan of his journey through porn addiction to breaking free from it. If you’re looking for a safe space to get help to break free, this may be it. And if you’re wanting your kids to remain free, and be prepared, this is also it!
