Did you know that the week of February 5th-9th is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week?

The Forum’s lead article on August 31, 2008, sounded the alarm that within the teen and pre-teen population, sending naked pictures of themselves or friends has been something authorities are encountering in our region.  The article dealt with the potential negative social, emotional and legal backlash that a student could experience for years to come.  The Make a Sound Choice team wants you to know that we are working to protect you and your kids.  The educators we have trained are aware of trends nationally and regionally regarding the use of cell phones to send pornographic images.

Make a Sound Choice has hosted two separate Training Days with national expert and speaker Jim Grenfell, is the author of the “Illusions“ program.  Illusions” concentrates on exposing the ease of accessing pornography via cellular and internet communications, the risk of becoming involved, and the potential of addictions being set in place when people send pornographic images to one another.  He speaks of the personal becoming impersonal and how it ALL still affects one very personally.   These are not just words.  He has studied the research on brain chemical reaction when one sees pornographic images.  The brain reacts to the images as if they were human beings standing in the room.  The brain has no other way to interpret the image.  The sexually stimulated chemical connection has the strength of a hit of cocaine.  In healthy relationships, this is what bonds us to our spouses and what assists in keeping marriages strong.  In unhealthy situations, it bonds a person to nobody (an image) and assists in preventing them from future bonding to real people.  He has studied how students are both innocently and purposefully seduced into looking at photos and unless their computer, cell phone, etc use is monitored by parents, friends or other caring adults, the need to indulge in pornographic images can become a compulsion and may reach crisis proportions.

In conjunction with the trainings that we hosted for educators, we also held free Community emPowerment events for parents and other adults with Jim Grenfell.  These events provided the same valuable information and insight to parents that the educators received.

The Make a Sound Choice team is committed to consistently promoting sound choices for the health and welfare of the students of North Dakota and Western Minnesota.  For further information, please contact us at 701-297-7548 or info@makeasoundchoice.com.  We have resources for parents and invested adults who want to educate themselves on the dangers of pornography and who want to protect their own kids from its possible damaging effect on their lives.  As we learn how good technology can be used poorly, we can assist one another in helping our kids and students become the citizens they are meant to be.

- Roberta Johnson (Resource Coordinator for MSC)