Protect Young Minds Blog
The best way to keep your family safe from pornography is to stay up-to-date with the latest news, resources, tips, and threats. Our blog will help you do just that.
New Name! Here’s Why We’re Becoming Defend Young Minds
Every parent I know is fighting for the hearts and minds of their children. It’s a difficult digital battle! And to keep up with the changing times, we all need to keep growing. That’s why we’re becoming Defend Young Minds. It’s time to level up our defenses against...
Babysitters & Tech: 5 Tips to Keep Kids Safe From Pornography
The number for poison control is hanging on the fridge - check. You’re ready to hug your kids and wave goodbye to the babysitter. But wait! Did you go over any rules to keep kids safe from pornography? Consider this: The minute a babysitter enters your home (yay, date...
NEW Netflix Parental Controls: Step-by-Step Guide to Update Your Settings!
Netflix provides some great content for kids, including educational titles. But it's also got some questionable content, from objectification of children in Cuties to soft core porn in Bridgerton. Because Netflix is not broadcast over the air, its content is not...
Talking to Your Kids About Sex: The Surprising Way to Reduce Anxiety and Depression
The following is a transcription of an interview between Kristen Jenson and Dr. Christy Kane. Kristen and Dr. Kane discuss the importance of talking to kids about sex and how that contributes to their mental health. Watch or read the interview below (edited for...
Child-on-Child Harmful Sexual Behavior Part 3: Treatment Options for Kids
As an admissions director, please know I’m not a therapist. But I do work in a world where I hear parents recount heartbreak after heartbreak, discovering their child is immersed in the worst possible scenarios – the unimaginable. As I seek to help parents find...
Child on Child Harmful Sexual Behavior Part 4: How to Find & Fund the Help Your Child Needs
Seeking treatment for a child with harmful sexual behavior can be overwhelming. In our final post of this series we are providing you with resources to find and fund the right treatment for your child as you consider your family’s needs regarding treatment type,...
Dangers of Discord: 6 Steps for Safeguarding Teens on the Popular Chat App
Ever heard of Discord? It’s a popular way for kids to chat with friends while playing Fortnite, Minecraft, or Among Us. You may have seen media reports warning parents about the dangers of Discord: hate speech, vulgar language, bullying, spreading malware, and even...
Child on Child Harmful Sexual Behavior Part 2: A Clear Guide to Navigating Legal and Reporting Requirements
I’ve been on the front lines for a long time, but my soul is always rocked by the desperate pleas from parents calling in seeking advice because their child has engaged in harmful sexual behavior. Behavior that has often been fueled by pornography. Note: This is Part...
Child on Child Harmful Sexual Behavior Part 1: A 3-Step Path to Prepare Parents
Being on the phone lines as the Admissions Director for Star Guides Wilderness Therapy, I have listened and wept with countless parents as they relate the devastating discovery of how one of their own children has hurt another child (often a sibling) through harmful...
Instagram for KIDS?! 3 Red Flags Every Parent Should Consider
Facebook has confirmed plans to create an Instagram for kids ages 6-12. We don’t have all the details yet, but we definitely see at least 3 red flags! Instagram for kids is not developmentally age-appropriate Social media is the last thing young kids and their growing...
Selfie-Centered Kids? How to Teach Empathy with 5 Quick and Easy Activities
Research shows that there’s a startling decline in empathy among kids. And in a world where capturing the perfect selfie, garnering likes and followers, and achieving social media fame are highly valued, it’s not hard to see why kids are becoming selfie-centered. This...
Is Anime Safe for Kids? Top Tips to Find Age-Appropriate Shows
Anime--the Japanese adaptation of the word animation--conjures up cartoon series like Digimon, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and others that have been loved by kids for decades. But just because it’s animated or in cartoon form doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for kids. Many parents...
My Story of Healing From Pornography Addiction: The 7-Step Plan Every Kid Can Use to Change Their Habits One Day at a Time
I have battled my pornography addiction for over a decade now. I am only 28. I’ve completed my undergraduate degree and a postgraduate degree. I’m married and we have children. I have a good job in a respectable profession. I have a full and happy life. However, as a...
Sending Nudes: Starting the Convo Early–3 Tips for Smart Parents
“My kid is sending nudes!!!” I hear this often, and my heart breaks every time. My first response is, “Default to love. Just love your child unconditionally.” We’ve all been blindsided with raising kids in a digital world. Once I explain this to parents and assure...
Racism in Porn: A Powerful Way to Teach Kids to Reject XXX
As critical consumers of media, we have begun to critique racism in just about every media format—movies, Twitter and Facebook feeds, and even children’s programming. But what about racism in porn? As a Clinical Psychologist, I am convinced it is well past the time...
Thinking “Not My Child!” Won’t Protect Your Kids from Sex Trafficking: Here are 3 Ways that Work
As more news stories about the reality of sex trafficking spread, parents often ask me, “What can we do to protect kids from sex trafficking?” What we know from the data is that any child or teen is vulnerable, but there are specific factors that make someone even...
10 Sneaky Ways Porn Will Target Your Kids in 2021
Porn targets kids even in the most trusted and mainstream places. Protecting children from it can seem like a game of whack-a-mole. That’s why our first post of the year always lists the sneaky ways the porn industry is targeting your innocent kids. In this post...
Help Shut Down Pornhub with 3 Easy Actions
The New York Times recently published an article that exposes the child sexual abuse videos that Pornhub profits from everyday. We applaud Nicholas Kristof and the New York Times for boldly printing the truth and sharing the victims’ stories. “[Pornhub] is infested...
Smartphone Gift Guide: Which are Safest for Teens? Compare Android, iPhone, Gabb, ClearPhone & Pinwheel
Thinking about being a holiday hero by getting your teen or tween a smartphone? Most teens want one, but a smartphone can be a big risk--opening them up to pornography, sexting, cyberbullying, and online predators. Before buying that Black Friday deal, consider...
Today’s Porn Industry: 5 Things Every Parent Needs to Know
I often say, “No child deserves to face the porn industry alone!” But what exactly is the porn industry. And what should you know about it? Parents should know that the porn industry is powerful and it’s coming after your child’s eyeballs, time and sexual template,...
Collin Kartchner: 11 Ways to #SavetheKids and Honor His Memory
Collin Kartchner was on fire to #SavetheKids. Save the kids from what? The mental health harms of social media, pornography and bullying. The loneliness created when technology erodes family relationships. A life-sucking smartphone addiction. Collin...
Erotic Lit and Young Minds–How Hyper-Sexualized Fiction Harms Girls and Boys
I recently had the opportunity to interview Lacy Bentley. Lacy is a Life Coach helping women overcome compulsive love and relationship patterns and has been in recovery for ten years for “love addiction”. You can read more about Lacy in her bio below. In this...
Parent Alert! Schools Offer Erotic Lit to 5 Year Olds through Library Apps! 5 Ways to Protect Your Kids
Nearly every school-issued device comes with a library app, which seems like a safe and reasonable choice for educational devices. But one parent alerted us that her kids had EASY access to erotic lit on iPads and Chromebooks issued to kids ages 5-11! We checked it...
The Shocking Tactics Sex Traffickers Use to Trap Your Kids and 5 Ways You Can Protect Them
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Russ Tuttle of The Stop Trafficking Project. Watch our interview or read the transcript below. https://youtu.be/ARcr9kS8x40 Note: The transcription of this interview has been edited for clarity. Kristen: Hi everyone! It’s...
About Us
Led by Kristen A. Jenson, author of the best-selling children’s book Good Pictures Bad Pictures, Protect Young Minds™ (PYM) seeks to help parents “porn-proof” their kids before they come across highly addictive and easily accessible internet pornography.