Internet Safety - 7 Steps to Protect your Family from Pornography - Simple & Practical
Click here to download a handout called 7 Steps to Protect your Family from Pornography.
Click here to download a survey to see if your family is safe.
Click here to download the My House Manual, which is a description of the My House Program that was sent to every parish in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
The following links and websites can be helpful, but they are not specifically endorsed by the My House Office:
Internet Pornography
Protect all computers, cell phones, and other electronics with internet access with filtering and accountability software, keep them in public areas of the house such as kitchens or living rooms, and limit the time children can use them.
Computers
- Use accountability and filtering software from Covenant Eyes and Safe Eyes
Cell phones
- Sex & Cell Phones: Protect Your Children has helpful information for protecting families from cell phone pornography
- Sexo y Celulares: Proteger a Tus Ninos
- Safe Eyes has filtering for iPhone/iPod Touch
- Covenant Eyes has accountability software for iPhone/iPod Touch and Windows Mobile 6 cell phones and PDAs
Video Games
- iPhantom and Open DNS help to filter a home’s wireless signal which can help protect children on X-Box, Playstation, Wii, and other game systems
Monitor all social networking sites for children and teens (Facebook, My Space, xanga.com, etc).
Know all user names and passwords to email, social networking sites, and EVERY site that requires a user name and password for your children and teens.
- Periodically check email, social networking sites
- Periodically check text and / or picture messages on cell phones
Secure television and satellite radio, and screen all movies before watching them.
- Christian movie review sites such as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Plugged in Online provide a detailed review of movies, including a written description of any sexual content, violent content, or other morally offensive content.
- Satellite radio—"family friendly" packages are available without "mature content"
- Block all "adult/mature" content, as well as other channels that may have inappropriate or morally offensive content. (Sky Angel provides family friendly TV packages.)
- Use teachable moments while watching a “family” show that depicts a situation that goes against your family values.
Spend quality time with your children and teens.
- Eat family dinners together.
- Affirm your children and teens daily.
- Pray with your children and teens daily.
- Turn off the TV, computer, and cell phone, and talk to your children.
- Have vacation/family gatherings together, and build positive memories.
Have open, honest, regular, conversations about God’s glorious plan for creating us male and female and the beauty of our human dignity and sexuality!
- Reading, listen to and become familiar with Theology of the Body (TOB) resources
- loveisfaithful.com has a list of resources on love and intimacy
- Pure Love Club
- Christopher West, Mary Shivanandan and other authors have TOB resources for adults
Sacraments Encourage all family members to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation monthly, and go to mass as a family each Sunday.
These are some initial ideas, and for more information and practical ways to protect you family, please look through these resources:
- Blessed are the Pure in Heart - Bishop Robert W. Finn - “A Pastoral Letter on the Dignity of the Human Person and the Dangers of Pornography" - Diocese of Kansas City, St. Joseph - brave pastoral letter from Bishop Finn on ways to protect families from pornography, awareness of the problem, and help for those who are struggling
- Pure Manhood (book) Jason Evert Pure of Heart: Breaking Free from Porn (CD set) Jason Evert Pure Womanhood (book) Crystalina Evert
- National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families www.nationalcoalition.org - The National Coalition has shown great leadership in protecting Christians from the threats of our sexualized culture, and they helped inspire the development of the My House Initiative for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The Coalition provides practical information and helpful tools to keep families safe from pornography, as well as healing for those who are struggling.
- Who does it Hurt www.WhoDoesItHurt.com - inspiring new website from Matthew Fradd, who is a Catholic man with a passion for sexual integrity.
