“For flavor, instant sex will never supersede the stuff you have to peel and cook.” -Quentin Crisp

It’s almost indisputable that we live in an instant gratification world.  My husband and I constantly turn to the Internet to answer even the silliest of ponderings (take for instance, last night’s Wikipedia query as to why Cody on Dual Survival never wears shoes).  We can barely stand not...

“Sex in the City changed everything for me, because those girls would sleep with so many people!”  --Lindsay Lohan

The things that we watch, the music that we listen to, the images that we take in on the pages of magazines or through the computer screen impact us, and the impression that media makes on our kids is even stronger.  I noticed this in my own life this past month.  Like many of...

When I think of Jim Morrison of The Doors, I think of the songs I grew up on: “Light My Fire”, “Love Me Two Times”, “Love Her Madly”, and “Touch Me”.  Even at a young age, whenever I listened to the doors, I envisioned Morrison and the band as defining the rock star life: sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll.  In my mind, sex, alcohol and drugs would seem to be idols in Morrison’s short life.  Always the...

This month on xxxchurch.com, we are diving into a world of famous quotes and testing them to see what truth or lies they may hold.  Today, I wanted to pick up a quote from Marilyn Monroe that may surprise you.  Once, near the top of her career, Marilyn said, “a sex symbol becomes a thing.  I just hate to be a thing.”  For many of our sons and daughters, and for many of us as adults, Marilyn...

This is a question that I receive often from parents.  Some that I talk with realize that the actual user agreement requires those who form an account to be at least 13-years-old, but they wonder whether it’s really so bad for their 11- or 12-year-old to be on the site.  Many that I speak with are unfortunately unaware of the possible risks of the sites, and some of that set have allowed their...

I’m a pretty direct person; if I discovered my husband was looking at pornography, I would talk to him immediately.  Other wives and husbands that I work with don’t take such a direct approach: they feel hurt and betrayed, and, as a result, they shut down, pretend nothing is going on and hide what they’ve discovered.  In truth, it can be very difficult, especially if you have a seemingly...

Last month, I was sitting down with a mom and dad who were angry and heartbroken to learn that their son had been exposed to pornography while at a sleepover at his best friend’s home.  They had noticed a change in their son’s behavior over the course of the week following the sleepover and they received a notice via their parental control software that their nine-year-old son was entering...

Talking about sex or porn for the first time can feel uncomfortable, and most parents feel embarrassed and a bit overwhelmed regarding where to start.  And, as a recent article on Today.com points out, Internet pornography means we need to have the birds and bees conversation earlier than ever.  The article describes how one dad sat down and explained the basics to his son, and when he asked...

Earlier this week, I was talking to a parent of an eleven-year-old.  She is on the cusp of purchasing her daughter a smart phone (all of her daughter’s friends have them already), and she was asking me for some advice.  I always tell parents that if they are going to let their kids use technology (lap tops, cell phones, tablets, gaming devices) they should set up a clear set of...

While the rest of XXXchurch.com will be covering Confessions this month (be sure to check out the other blog sections for their great content!), over here in the Parent’s section of the site, we’ll be focusing on the type of questions we get all the time from parents, which often start like this: “When Should I…?”

Today, I wanted to cover the common question: When Should I Start Using a...