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Clean and Free From Porn Addiction

With the internet, pornography is just a click away – which means even your child can access it easily. In extreme cases, they may develop an addiction to pornography.

To be completely free and clean from porn, it is not just about going cold turkey for a few weeks or months. It takes a lifelong effort to be able to kick this habit. If not addressed, the addiction can lead to serious problems such as mental health issues, problems in school, and relationship issues with family members and friends.

What can you do if you find out your child is addicted to porn?

1. Avoid lecturing and reprimanding, and approach the topic by showing concern. Find out more from your child about the reasons why they became addicted to porn. Possible reasons are initial curiosity, relationship problems in school or at home, or some other areas your child is facing difficulty in.
2. Take necessary steps to help your child break out of the addiction. If relationship issues are the cause of the addiction, work out ways to improve those relationships. If there is too much free time outside school, plan constructive activities to engage him/her. Be an accountability partner for your child, and walk this journey with them towards a lifestyle free from porn.

However, these may not be enough to recover from the addiction. In such cases, treatment may be necessary.

To determine whether porn addiction treatment is necessary for your child, consider which of the following statements are true for your child:

• Does your child feel powerless to resist the temptation to watch porn?
• Does your child have many unsuccessful attempts to stop watching porn?
• Does your child spend a significant amount of time watching porn, thinking about porn, or engaging in activities that will enable access to porn?
• Does your child frequently spend money on porn?
• Does your child neglect family time or social interactions in order to watch porn?
• Does your child forego opportunities, or consider giving up opportunities in order to have more time to watch porn?
• Does your child still continue to watch porn even when experiencing negative consequences?
• Does your child feel anxious, stressed, or irritable when he/she is unable to watch porn?

If your answer to any of the statements above is a “yes”, intervention measures may be needed to help them overcome the addiction effectively. It is strongly recommended that your child undergoes counselling or any comprehensive recovery programme.

If your child is experiencing pornography addiction, please call our TOUCHline at 1800 377 2252.