What to Know
Jill Duggar has been known for making some controversial parenting choices over the years for sons Israel, Samuel, and Freddy, but her latest is drawing some seriously mixed feelings from her followers. After Jill revealed that she has been reading a book aimed at “porn proofing” children, a debate has broken out about whether or not this is okay — especially considering her older brother Josh Duggar‘s conviction on charges related to child sexual assault material (CSAM).
Jill shared a book called Good Pictures, Bad Pictures on her Instagram Stories.
In the video she shared, Jill explained that the book, which is aimed for kids ages 7-11, is “about just trying to protect our kiddos’ eyes.”
According to the book’s description on Amazon, Good Pictures, Bad Pictures is a “read-aloud story about a mom and dad who explain what pornography is, why it’s dangerous, and how to reject it.”
Some critics were a bit creeped out by the book.
Referring to the book’s subtitle — “Porn proofing today’s young kids” — one critic on Reddit shared that they were pretty grossed out by the whole concept.
“If this is a children’s book I’m not a fan of it saying porn on the front page. Idk it’s yucky to me,” they wrote. “You’re straight up just reminding them of porn/teaching a 7 year old porn exists. You can reach them safety and all the things but it’s off putting to have that on the cover of the book.”
Other commenters seemed to agree, with one writing, “I feel like this would make me more curious as a kid. I get with the history of Josh why she might do this… Better just to have a convo though. They might understand better and be more open with you after that later on.”
Others believed that it’s necessary — and many have also used the same book to have these hard discussions with their own children.
Fellow parents with more mainstream beliefs than the ones Jill and Derick hold said that they have read this book to their kids, and don’t believe that opening up the discussion around the dangers of the internet at a young age can be harmful. In fact, some even believe it’s especially important for Jill to share this with her kids, given what she experienced when she was assaulted by Josh as a child herself.
“This is actually a wonderful thing,” one person wrote. “For someone who was raised with such shame surrounding sexual abuse it is impressive that she’s empowering her kids to recognize inappropriate interactions and what to do. So many children encounter sexual content online or are shown by a friend. This is exactly what parents are supposed to do with their children and it’s not snark-worthy at all.”
Awkward, or totally necessary to keep kids safe? This may end up being a topic that’s tough for people to find a middle ground on.
