Bans, restrictions will prove counterproductive'

The first step to finding a solution is to identify symptoms of odd behavior in a child as any kind of deviant behaviour, as in the case of a minor raping another child, is never spontaneous. There is usually a difference in his conduct  as compared to normal children. The child usually display characteristics earlier before attempting or experimenting with something. And in the course of his development, there could be several indicators of abnormality that must be spotted and corrected immediately by parents.  

Also, pornography can influence children. Media websites showing it need to be banned and cyber cafes must make sure not to allow minors in unattended as they will not be able to understand the consequences of their actions in the long run.

Teachers too need to keep a check on the behaviour dynamics of their students, especially if they are teenagers as this is the time they go through puberty and psycho-behavioural changes. It is important to identify and correct weird behavior and any sexual experiments they might try to make at this point.

Peer influence within schools is inevitable. In a group of five friends, if one watches a porn clip, he is likely to share it with the other four, who will be curious to find out what he is talking about. Parents can only make sure that their child makes friends with the right kind of peers

 Another factor is the rapport parents and children share. If the mother and father are liberal and can be approached with any questions, then the child will feel free to talk to them. But if they are restrictive in nature,  the child will turn to sources which are well informed. Children will always have questions and if the parents do not answer them, they will go on the Internet to find them. To make sure they don’t parents must provide them scientific answers.  

Also, every school has a role to play and must have a counsellor,  who should be accessible to students if they have any issues at any point of time. If  there is no counsellor, a teacher can be trained as a substitute.

While one can ban porn, blanket bans are not a solution at all. Taking away their gadgets, smart phones and so on will not get you results. Every family today has a laptop and so we cannot stop children having easy access to gadgets. But its important to keep a watch and see if they start  behaving differently and if they do, they must be immediately referred to a professional. Punishing them will only prove counter-productive.