Sex, Drugs and Bad Decisions: The Remix.

Parenting in the digital age is no joke. This is my uncensored take on trying to raise kids to survive in reality - sex, scams and all.

Author's Note: This post was originally published on April 27, 2025, BUT I've since given it a facelift and am trying a new approach - clearer thoughts, cleaner formatting and definitely more bullship to chew on.

My Parenting Style: A Throwback Mess

My form of parenting is a little bit 80s, a little bit 90s and a whole lot of being the "adultier" adult to my broke little best friends. I have kids across all development stages, because, clearly, I'm secretly a masochist. I've always tried to be honest with them, in an age-appropriate way. They're not stupid - just inexperienced - and they need to know life is hard.

Is it the best way? Probably not. Do I have well-adjusted, albeit slightly jaded, little humans? Yup! Sure do.

Honesty, Even When It's Awkward

One of our biggest wins in this parenting journey is open communication, no matter the topic. Since they were tiny humans, we have made it clear that yes, we might get mad, but we'll work through it together. (We may have told them their ears turn red when they lie. Whatever works.)

Topics like sex, drugs, your body, the internet, people? It's all fair game. It's need-to-know stuff.

The Internet Is Not Your Friend

My oldest is going off to college soon, and we had that talk again. Not the birds and the bees - but the scams and the fleas, the AI threats and the creepy internet side streets. I'm old - didn't grow up in the digital age; I grew with it. There's a difference. I'm older than the internet. I've been using it since dial-up screamed at us.

And now, I'm out here talking to my kid about sextortion.

He had a general idea, so we expanded together. I needed him to understand that one dumb decision can live forever online. A single photo can be altered and weaponized in moments. So yes - make smart choices. But if mistakes happen (and they will), it's okay. We face it together. A permanent decision for a temporary problem is never the solution. Will it be embarrassing? Sure. Is it the end of the world? It is not.

24/7 digital access.

When Kids Don't Know Where to Turn

It devastates me to see young people choose to end it all over a mistake, internet blackmail or embarrassment. One recent depressing read - a young adult (kid) couldn't pay some unknown force to keep AI edited photos private. And so, they chose the ultimate ending.

There are no takesies-backsies after that. And the carnage left? Immeasurable.

Let's Make the "Taboo" Less Taboo

If you're a younger reader: we have ALLLLL done questionable shit. Truly. Us older adults were just lucky enough to do dumb shit without digitalized evidence. Growth happens through mistakes, not perfection.

If you're a parent or have younger people in your life: be the safe space to turn to. Open up about the "taboo" topics. Make them Un-taboo. Seriously, someone had to have sex to make the humans - but we can't talk about it? If you can't talk about sex, you shouldn't be having it.

Let's normalize real communication. Let's teach kids accountability and how to handle failure, problem-solving and digital fallout - not just shout buzzwords like "narcissist" and "gaslighting".

Reality is messy. Sometimes you hit potholes. Sometimes you hit trees. But you climb back in the damn driver's seat.

Did you know this was a thing? I've been learning all sorts of new bullship recently. Drop us a comment and let us know your thoughts!

Be safe out there! Until next time, stay feral.

If you or someone you know is being targeted online, or if you would like more information, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Please visit Stop Sextortion or contact the FBI to take back control.