ESTEVAN - Jason Weening wants to educate parents about the dangers associated with pornography, whether it be online or in publications.
The Estevan resident will be hosting a presentation, Parents and Pornography, on May 24 at 7 p.m. at the Estevan Alliance Church. The discussion is from a Christian perspective and is for those ages 18 and up.
Weening said he is not a pastor or a counsellor, but he is a married father of 10. Their oldest child is 18 years of age and the youngest is a month old. He concedes that talking to children, as they get older, about such topics as sex and pornography can be uncomfortable at times, and a lot of parents face similar challenges.
"I just started doing some research, reading some books, listening to podcasts and reaching out to some different organizations, and there are guys out there who know a lot about this stuff. I just put a little bit of a talk together to encourage parents and to give them actual scripts … on what they can say," said Weening.
If a parent asks to see a child's phone, Weening said it's out of love and a desire to see what's best for the child.
Also appearing will be Caleb and Verlynda Simonyl-Gindele, who are also from Estevan. Weening said they are family therapists and Caleb is a certified sex addiction therapist. Once Weening is finished his presentation, he will host a panel discussion with the couple, and then the audience will be able to ask questions.
"There's a range of topics, scenarios and situations that parents go through, so we're going to have the Q-and-A to go through some of that," said Weening.
He shares some of his own story about his first encounters with pornography when he was eight years old, and discusses statistics about the prevalence of porn in society and how it can impact marriages and families. He says he isn't trying to bring shame when discussing the topic, and he stressed it isn't intended to be preaching against sex within marriage.
This will be the third time that Weening has held this talk. He previously presented to parents at a Saskatchewan homeschooling conference in Regina and at similar event in Winnipeg for Manitoba homeschoolers.
Weening said the presentations went over very well, and he has received some positive feedback from his audiences.
