Letitia Shelton hopes to raise $200k to help parents talk to kids about porn

About 70 per cent of parents think they should talk to their children about porn, but less than half know how to do it. Letitia Shelton is riding 2200km to change this.

A City Free From Porn organiser Letitia Shelton is riding 2240km with the goal of raising $200,000. The money will fund the distribution a book that teaches parents how to talk to their children about the dangers of porn.

A City Free From Porn organiser Letitia Shelton will spend the next two weeks cycling from Darwin to Broome to raise money for a book that teaches parents how to talk to their children about porn and its addictive qualities.

Her aim is to raise $200,000 to distribute 30,000 books, titled How to Talk to Your Kids about Pornography.

“Already we have raised about $46,000 and we have volunteers delivering books to about 7000 homes in Toowoomba,” Ms Shelton said.

Ms Shelton has joined a riding group to support her in the 2200km journey, but she is the only person riding to raise money.

“It is certainly a challenge with the heat and riding kilometres every day,” she said.

“It is a big undertaking because porn is a big problem.”

Ms Shelton pointed to Australian Government research that found 77 per cent of parents think it is their responsibility to talk to their children about porn, but less than 50 per cent know how to do that.

The book offers parents a range of strategies to talk to children and teenagers of all ages.

Ms Shelton acknowledged that schools do address porn and healthy relationships but this tends to be in the senior years of high school.

She said those conversations need to start sooner and that children as young as eight are exposed to explicit images and video.

“Porn is predatory – it comes hunting for your child,” she said.

“If no one is talking to children in an age-appropriate way when that exposure can lead to serious long-term consequences.”

Her fundraising campaign runs until mid-July.

Click here to donate.