[Susan1019]

Please help! Yesterday I caught my 7 year old son looking at internet porn, he had perused sites from woman's private area to porn video's, probably anywhere from 10-20 sites, not all at once but since Monday when my husband & I were in Jamaica and grandma was in "babysitting" yeah I know she's heartbroken and said that they didn't have those things when I was growing up. I am in shock and do not know what to do at this point. He has never given me any reason not trust him nor do we allow any type of this behavior in our home, I asked him where he got the idea to do such a terrible thing and he said it was in his mind he didn't or wouldn't give a direct answer. Does he need therapy? Do I discuss puberty at this point with a memorable punishment??
Thanks,
Susan

[twinzplus3]

My son is almost 7. . .my first thought is where did he get the idea to do this? I mean is he curious. . .and stumbled upong it so he kept looking? Have you talked to him about sex before? Or is this something he clearly knows that he's not supposed to be doing?

I know for my 7yo son, I would likely not punish him to be honest. He just doesn't know that much, isn't really interested in girls, etc. And so likely it would be time for me to talk to him about puberty, sex and all else. (We've actually already talked about it a little. . .I think all parents should talk to their kids about sex as soon as they start asking questions or before they go to school.)

I suspect that if he goes to school, it's something that one of his friends has, that he saw or something of the like or that he has been exposed to another adult male that looks at porn. At this point, I would treat it as normal curiosity, tell him that this is not acceptable to you. . .and install some good software on your computer for blocking adult sites and/or so you can look at the history of what's been visiting on your computer.

I think the key question to answer, is whether or not he stumbled upon it or got the idea to go to these sites from someone else. I know if it were my son, I'd be very concerned about all adult males that he has contact with.

[mcmama]

7 year olds don't check this stuff out unless it is put in front of them. Either another child told him, or another male in your household or neighborhood is visiting porn sites and making it easy for your son to accidentally stumble upon them.

He's too young to understand puberty. Probably he heard some dirty words at school and some kid told him to google it.

Find out from him what he thinks he saw.

Explain to him that he is never to do those things on the computer again because it hurts both him and the computer. Your computer is probably virus central by now.

What does grandma say actually happened?

Spyware and adult site blockers are a good idea. That way you protect your family. Don't give the passcodes to get around these to any other adults in your family, including your husband.

[QueenAngie]

Welcome to the board!

Hoping the trip to Jamaica was a good trip for you and DH.

Yes, I'd be placing parental control locks on the puter.

Our 1st experience was in the 4th grade with our sons, searching for information on the White House for school. Came upon a nasty site by accident. What a shock! My son immediately told us what was on the site and upset over it.

Why did your 7 yo do this? I cannot say. I would closely monitor his activities on the puter in the future.

Good luck!

[Alejandros Mommy]

Wow...I have an 8 yr old and I don't think this has ever occured to him at all. I agree that it probably was someone in the household that was looking and may have influenced him. Have a talk about "sex" with your son....there's no putting it off now....he needs some explanation. I would aslo not allow him to have computer acess without adult supervision in the room. Both our Computer and Lap top are upstairs..we can keep an eye on our 8 year old from the living room. We also have a folder under favorites with his name and he is only allowed to access that folder...anything else mami and daddy have to check out first.

[Susan1019]

Thanks so much to everyone that posted a reply...I found something helpful in each message. I do have one question, should I restrict him from friends for like a week or so? We live in family oriented nieghborhood he has like 8 friends within our next door neighbors.
Also, the computer apparently does have several viruses. I didn't realize there was a software that would enable adult sites. I've changed our DirectTV to show only PG shows. I honestly do not know where he got it from, there are no other children in our household and when I looked through the history it all happened on Monday. I searched weeks to months.

[Alejandros Mommy]

I wouldn't as I really don't think he knew what he did was wrong....like I said before. I would find out who else uses that computer for that kind of thing. BTW the history can be deleted.

[mcmama]

I would not punish him, he just has to know not to do it again and why. But where did he get the idea? That would concern me most.

Supervise his every move on the computer.

[twinzplus3]

Exactly what pp said. . .I wouldn't punish my son for it either. I would so much more concerned about where he got the idea from.

[md7mdee]

My suggestion about keeping internet porn away from your children is...only allow them online when you are available to be present.

A 7 year old doesn't need the internet for school report research, or to catch up on news. So, I'll assume that they were on line for gaming or webkinz. No matter how I feel about that, you have to know that porn sites are actually targeting keywords for child porn terms. So any slip of the cursor or mis-typed word might lead them directly where you don't want them.

I say send them outside for their entertainment!