"Muscles and Men" and a 9-year old boy.

Here is an example of how I inoculated my grandson using Porn Proofing Kids concept. (See: Porn Proofing Kids Intro and Porn Proofing Kids Directions.)

An example of administering a Body Booster.

My wife and I were babysitting our four grandchildren in Hibbard Idaho last week. Pretty rural community next to BYU Idaho in Rexburg-nothing to worry about right? Our grandsons have great parents trying their best to raise great kids.

I'm sitting in the living room playing with the baby. The 9-year-old grandson brings this book over about "Tough Guys." (See the picture at the left). He checked them out from the school library. He opens the book and shows me this picture, saying "Look Pa. Look at his muscles." (See the next picture at the left). .

These images reflect our cultures stereo-type of males. They portray males as extremely muscular and as having a facial expression that ‘knows no fear.’ These pictures reinforce the stereo-typed male body as the masculine ideal including: dominance, aggression, power and control.

STEP 1: TAKE HIS TEMPERATURE by asking questions.

I asked, "Do you want to be like that?" He responded "I don't know." I followed up with the question "Do you think that is what a man should look like?"  He again replied "I don't know."  Remember the important part in taking a kid temperature is asking questions. Questions will vary depending on which of the five boosters you are wanting to focus on: Body, Gender, Intimacy, Screen time, or Good and Evil.  Other possible questions might have been, "Jesus is a man, does he look like that?"  "Is that what a good dad looks like?" "Am I bad? I don't look like that." The goal is to see what if any knowledge or skills the kid might be lacking in order to later teach / administer the specific booster.

2: SHUT-UP AND LISTEN to the his response.

I listened. It was pretty clear my grandson's purpose in showing me the picture was the fact that this guy had big muscles and he wanted muscles like the guy in the picture. My grandson rolled up his shirt sleeve and flexed hi bicep, like the man in the picture.

STEP 3: DELIVER A BOOSTER.

I thought to myself this is a great opportunity to deliver a Body Booster and maybe even a Gender Booster.  So I asked "What do you have to do to get a strong body like that guy in the picture? He replied "Eat good food and exercise."  I replied, "That's right.  Our body is a Temple and we should take care of it." I added, "Do you think God wants you to eat good food and exercise?" He replied "Yes." Pointing to his picture of the muscle man, I asked, "There is another body this guy has in addition to the physical body. Do you know what it is?" He replied "No."  I reminded him, "A spirit body. Remember just like a physical body you have a spiritual body. This guy has a strong physical body. How strong to you think his spiritual body is?" He replied "I don't know."  Then I asked "If this muscle man wanted a strong spirit body like his strong physical body, what would he have to do?" My grandson replied "I don't know." I asked it differently "If good food and exercise make your physical body strong, what kinds of things would you have to do to make your spirit strong?"  He answered, "Oh I got it... say his prayers and read his scriptures."  I replied, "Exactly."   I could tell from his facial expressions he was done. He went back to reading "Tough Guys"  I returned to play with the grand baby.

Done. It took less than 5 minutes!

Later that evening I had my grandson show my wife the man with the big muscles in the picture. I asked him to tell grandma what two bodies this guy has. He did. I then instructed him to tell her how someone develops strong spiritual muscles. He did.

At a later time-maybe a month or two, I will initiate a conversation with my grandson focusing more on the gender stereo-type myths. I will wait until he exhibits some interest in muscles and/ or professional wrestlers.

That's it. A Body Booster effectively delivered. Obviously as an Inspired Parent with Common Sense you may have taken this discussion in a different direction with different questions keeping your specific kid's needs in mind.

Remember:
The most powerful opportunities to administer a booster are typically those brought to us by the  kids in routine daily experiences.  Take advantage of these situations.  Lots of little discussions are what effectively inoculates kids against porn and other immoral behavior. The single shot talk about the "birds and the bees" is no longer sufficient.

CHALLENGE: 
Pay attention to your children and grandchildren. Take one kid's temperature by asking questions.

dr rick
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