Best of the Web: What to do when your child encounters online porn, coping with uncertainty, and the delights of storytime

(Alan McKee, The Conversation)

According to some experts, notes the author, the average age of first exposure to pornography online is 11-years-old. But despite this statistic, there isn’t much around to help parents deal with this challenging issue.

So a team of academics from disciplines including psychology, sexology, sociology and media studies reviewed more than 2000 pieces of research to examine how sexual development is related to exposure to pornography.

They have produced some key points of advice to equip parents, in situations such as what to do if your child stumbles across porn online. The answer? Don’t panic – with the right support, exposure to porn doesn’t need to cause damage.

You might also find useful Caroline Ellen’s Virtual Childhoods, a free ebook

(Christine Carter, ideas.ted.com)

In this year of great uncertainty, each day has brought potential threats, interspersed with occasional moments of hope.

As the author notes, we crave information about the future, with our brains focused on creating certainty. But in times like these, she writes, it’s more effective not to try to create certainty. During an event such as the pandemic, we need to learn to live with ambiguity.

The article offers seven ideas to help us embrace this approach, including not resisting but accepting, investing in personal care and growth, and not waiting for someone to rescue us.

You might also like Tim Klein’s Why it’s okay to feel out of control – and why things will get better .

(Séamas O’Reilly, The Guardian)

There’s a magic moment when a young child discovers delight in books, and for a parent, the joy that being the story reader brings.

This column is a personal celebration of this. ‘He follows us around the house shouting, with great subtlety and refinement “READ A BOOK!” before thrusting his chosen text into our hands and plopping down beside us.’

‘Reading to a small child is still one of parenting’s premier perks. The first few times, that is.’ An endless repeat cycle can soon wear thin, the result of which is that some books have disappeared from the household.

You might also like Frank Woodley’s story time tips for Dads.