Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today's Young Kids

We got this book for our kid going into middle school. I’ve heard great things but I read through it myself before we present it just in case. Each chapter is short and has 2-3 questions and space for writing an answer at the end to encourage kids to retain the information. The book itself is an example of a pornography conversation between a mother and son then a father as well. I liked the format because it truly was a story but it wasn’t a talk where a child could get distracted as they usually do. It also talked a good bit about the brain and how it works. It did with without being too specific so it didn’t sound like a biology textbook. There is a glossary for unfamiliar words, a list of tips and a QR code taking you to more resources in the back of the book. This book is not religious in tone. It mentions a way a child can distract themself if they have already seen pornographic photos and think of one that they can sing songs, go for a walk or IF they follow a faith tradition to say a prayer. That is the only time any religion is mentioned. Another reviewer said it shames children and sex workers. The word sex is only used in the parent section to explain that this book is for children before they have even had the “sex talk”. There is continuous mentions to the kids who have seen them or being bad or broken. It doesn’t explain anything sexual in nature other than the individuals are showing parts covered by the bathing suit. It says the body is wonderful but they should not be photographed. That’s pretty cut and dry to me. They must not have read the book themselves. I recommend this and will be getting the good pictures bad pictures jr for younger kids as well.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor I have extensive training in the sex addiction field. I am grateful for this sound, easy to read clinical resource for families. I am a therapist to Partners of Porn/Sex Compulsions/Addictions and Adult Children of Porn/Sex Compulsion/Addictions. I see and hear on a daily basis the trauma that compulsive Porn viewing does to a person, his/her family, and the community as a whole. This book describes how the brain is impacted by ‘porn use’ in a way that even a child can understand. I personally sought out this book for my 6-year when he tearfully reported seeing naked people on a 6 year-old friend’s phone. My son was not able to verbalize what he had seen. Thankfully Good Pictures/Bad Pictures explained to him in easy terms that he had seen pornography. The most valuable lesson that my son verbalized was that he could choose to use his thinking or feeling brain at a young age and he could protect his own brain. My clients read Good Pictures Bad Pictures to their children to explain how compulsive porn has impacted mom, dad and/or siblings because children know there is a problem in the home, but they just don’t know what it is! This book gives clients the opportunity to shine light on compulsive porn use in an age appropriate way. Adult clients also find it easier to understand compulsive porn viewing because of how easy the authors explain addiction in the brain. I highly recommend this book for parents that want to prepare their children for what they may view on a phone/video game/laptop at even the most innocent of ages as my own 6 year old. I also highly recommend this book as education for Families of Compulsive Porn Addicts. Cassie Kingan, MA, PC, CCPS, CCTP Professional Counselor Certified Clinical Partner Specialist Certified Clinical Trauma Professional

This empowering book opens the door to discussing a difficult topic easily and clearly with children of many different ages. Our family recently read aloud the first chapter together and the boys ages 4 and 6 asked engaging questions. There is a lot of text per page, but the book can easily be broken into smaller sections for younger children. As a mother of children with special needs, I really appreciate a book that can explain pornography in a gentle but direct manner. Not only does this book explain the difficult topic of pornography, but it opens a dialogue between adult and child giving role models for both adults and children. Not only does it open a dialogue, but it provides clear and concise explanations for the trap of pornography as well as a plan of action once a child is exposed to pornography. This book is a great teaching tool! Every family should have one. Why I like it: 1. The introduction to the book is a great tool answering the questions why talk about pornography with young children 2. Great organization of easing into a such a difficult topic, while scaffolding and structure make it easy for following chapters to build on the previous chapter. 3. The pictures are realistic, but soft and inviting which is a welcome contrast to the difficult topic. 4. One of the best things about this book is the plan of action outlined in Chapter 8 for when a child is exposed to pornography.

I tell my fellow moms that every cell phone is a "porn-viewing device"! All you have to do is misspell something, like the names "Bob" or "rick" and voila - exposure. This book is awesome because it: 1. Explains in kid-speak how the brain works 2. Explains how pornography (and addiction) uses normal brain functioning to trick the brain to want to see it 3. Puts the blame squarely on the science of the brain and not the child (i.e., no shaming) 4. Gives specific actions to take when he/she sees pornography to stop the cycle. This book might be a little babyish for adolescents and teens, but it is worth getting them to read it as well because it is so clear and in this era, ALL kids will have to choose at some point in time whether to click "yes" or "no" to see more. As an aside, the big problem with porn these days is that there is no Porn 101. Is is not just Playboy vs. Hustler anymore. Those are tame compared to any porn-site's homepage. What is online is an immediate exposure to all porn, including S&M and other perversion porn, AND porn used by pedophiles to groom their victims. Kids see that stuff without discussion with a mentor/parent and then think that those are normal parts of sex. If your child has already been exposed (intentionally or not), this book can help open up the topic, which needs a bright light shone on it. Physical human needs - air, food, water, shelter, sleep, and sex - they will find out about sex somehow so let it be from you. Good luck!

First of all, I would like to thank the authors of providing a voice for the topic some of us choose not to acknowledge, or worse yet, think that porn is "normal". I can't rave about this book enough, not only is it formatted as a nice story that kids enjoy but it offers a ton of opportunities to engage with your child/children. My son is 7 and we were able to get through a large majority on the first day and finished it the next. The next day we ended with a nice little activity between my wife and I that involved taking a few pivotal quotes and the "CAN DO" acronym onto a printout and attached it somewhere near his desk where he can see it everyday. Every week or so we remind him of the CAN DO plan and he tends to remember a lot of it. I'm sure with a little more consistency, it will stick. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to all parents. Some areas of the US have even considered porn an epidemic. This is really true and unfortunately I see it too often from people around me, at work and extended friends and family. It's really a sad truth but a truth nonetheless. This is truly a revolutionary book by some courageous authors who weren't afraid to speak out out on the subject. Also, shameless plug here, but the authors closely work with an organization called, "Fight The New Drug". I recommend people to visit their site as well for those who are older, such as teenagers, young adults, as well as older adults who feel the struggling grip of porn. It's a very helpful site with a lot of helpful resources who are also leading a movement towards exposing the truths about porn, human sex trafficking, and more. They've also developed a program on their site called "Fortify" to really engage those with a stronger struggle and help in getting free. I hope this review helps others or at least will get you interested in wanting to learn more about this virus in our country and abroad.

Wonderful tool for helping our young ones understand why and how to respond when they see things there shouldn’t. So thankful for books like this one, and love that this takes us through exactly what words to share! We were able to have some good conversations from this, but even if we left it at what is covered here, it would be enough. Used this with our 7yo and also with our 5yo, thought it was appropriate with both. Originally picked up an earlier version from the library - pleasantly surprised to see updates that make it more relatable for our kids, like the mom looking things up on her tablet instead of pulling down a medical book from her shelf (we LOVE books, of course, but it’s normal for us to be looking things up on our phones, too!). They also removed a lot of introductory remarks that we weren’t ready to share with our kids (maybe they put them at the back, actually - I haven’t checked). Anyway, it seemed less concerning to let them peruse it a bit after we had read through it with them. We definitely intend to cover it with them multiple times - definitely a good book to own! We are believers - we love Jesus - but didn’t find the secular nature of this book to be at all off-putting.

We purchased the younger kids edition of this book a few years ago for our two boys and very much appreciated the discussion about what kind of pictures are good and what kind are bad. This also bled into a very good talk about private parts and how to respond to any inappropriate behavior or touch. As our boys got older (they are seven and nine now) we got this edition to continue the talk. This book does an excellent job talking about how bad pictures can be exciting and trick your brain into thinking they are a good thing. It covers topics like addiction in an age appropriate manner that kids can understand. It also discusses how to respond and what to do when you encounter bad pictures and pornography. I really appreciated how this turned into an honest and frank conversation about the pitfall of pornography and how it can really hurt you and others. Where I felt like the book falls a little short was in its description of bad pictures and pornography. It describes bad pictures as pictures of people with their clothes off. It also says to name bad pictures as pornography, which the author says they do together if they see it while out and about. I find that to be confusing. Pornography is usually much worse than just pictures of people without their clothes on, and unless you happen to be walking around very sketchy neighborhoods, it’s never something you would see while out and about. I can appreciate the author treading carefully here, in case some parents have not had the sex talk with their kids yet, but I think the definition of pornography in this book needs to be more clear, regardless. In fairness, the author does provide an advanced definition of pornography in the appendix, but that seems too little for a book designed for older children. I’d prefer we tell our kids exactly what it is so they know truly what they may encounter, what to do when they see it, and that they’re parents are the place to go if they run across it. So, all that to say, this is a really excellent book and starts a very important discussion. I wish it went a bit farther, but even though it doesn’t, parents can fill in the blanks according to the maturity level of their children.

This book is well written and begins explaining a difficult topic in a way children can understand.

Absolutely brilliant explanation for kids regarding pornography.

Every home should have one of these books, brilliant resource. It is age appropriate, it does a great job of explaining things well without overloading kids, and teaches kids what to do should they be exposed to inappropriate content.

Excellent tool in parenting. Would recommend to all parents, in bringing up children uncorrupted in today's generation. Appreciate the author. God bless

A real eye and mind-opener with simplicity. Truly valuable tool for parents, really well written, easy to understand, great approach with both simple science and explanations. Our children enjoyed going through it with mom and dad. Thank you for this, sadly it's a much needed resource in today's evil world.

Excelente leitura!! Objetivo, franco, elegante no trato de tão delicado tema. Com certeza será de muito proveito para os pais que desejam abordar de forma honesta e sem rodeios o assunto com seus filhos pequenos.