Ex-Playboy Photographer Educates Parents on Protecting Kids from Sexual Abuse & Online Predators
Parenting coach Emily Gaudreau discusses protecting kids from pornography, online predators, and sex trafficking, plus practical advice on smartphones, allowance, and setting boundaries at home.
About This Episode
Emily Gaudreau was on assignment shooting Playboy’s 2008 “Party School of the Year” showcase when she put her camera away, vowing to never use it again. Since then, she has aligned with her true purpose as a sexual abuse prevention advocate and parenting coach. In this episode of Open Mike, Emily and Mike discuss crucial topics the modern parent needs to know about, including at-home learning, sex trafficking, smart device usage, and drug experimentation.
Show Notes
- Introducing our guest, Emily Gaudreau!
- Emily’s background
- You used to be a photographer — how did it transport you into this new realm of work?
- Do you have formal training in social work or psychology?
- Emily discusses the blurry nature of “sex-positive” pornography and how it can lead to violence
- Sex trafficking is scary as hell and it’s a lot more prolific than people realize. How do you keep younger kids safe when monitoring them is so hard with modern technology?
- What’s the age when you’ll give your daughter her own smart phone?
- Other than restricting phone usage, what else can parents do to protect our kids?
- Premature exposure to pornography can cause kids to display signs of abuse
- How prolific is premature exposure to pornography? What is the conversation we should be having with our kids?
- Kids of divorced homes are 20% more likely to be victims of sexual abuse
- In an ideal world, sex ed comes from parents… how do you stop kids from hearing from their friends first?
- Do you find that kids are more on alert these days?
- Check out How to Raise a Maverick and hit Emily up on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
- What does “maverick” mean to you?
- Without guidance, teens having sex are a little clueless… in an ideal world, are kids going to figure it out together, themselves?
- Sex ed in the United States is hyper-focused on gender studies in younger people and overlooks fundamental issues like consent
- Are you for or against allowance? What’s the best way to give your kids allowance?
- What’s your take on alcohol and parents who allow their kids to have a sip or two (or more) when they’re underage?
- What’s your best advice for parents who know their kids will be around marijuana and want to experiment? What’s the safest way to deal with that?
- There’s a difference between not allowing something in your home and having an open level of communication. The home needs to be a safe space with standards that are consistently upheld.
- What’s your best advice for parents of younger kids, 7-10 years old, about whether they should be the friend or parent figure?
- Do you have any tips on how to keep kids focused during the COVID-19 online learning process?
- You have a course for parents including a coaching session called “Young, Wild, and Safe.” What does that involve?
- How would you summarize the absolute best parenting advice you could give someone?
- Thank you to today’s guest, Emily Gaudreau!
- Remember to investigate How to Raise a Maverick and Emily’s social: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
- Thanks for tuning in to Open Mike Podcast — we’ll see you next time!
FAQs
-
What led Emily Gaudreau to stop working as a photographer?
Gaudreau said that while photographing a woman on a 2008 Playboy shoot she sensed something deeper, like a pain, in her. After she got home and processed the photos, she put her camera away, and that was the last time she ever took photos. Through her current work, she said, she now recognizes that look as childhood trauma.
-
What is Emily Gaudreau's advice on giving kids smartphones?
Gaudreau urges parents not to give their kids a smartphone, comparing it to sending a child into a sex shop “times 10.” She has told her seven-year-old daughter she can’t have one until she can pay for the whole thing herself, including the service. She would get her a basic phone that can call, text and take pictures but can’t send them, since sharing pictures and sexting get kids into a lot of trouble.
-
How does Emily Gaudreau suggest parents talk to kids about pornography?
Gaudreau said it starts with body safety rules: nobody is allowed to touch anywhere underneath your swimsuit, nobody is allowed to take photos of your private parts, and nobody is allowed to show you photos of private parts. She said that last rule is where the conversation brings in pornography, along with asking kids what they would do and who they would tell if something happened.
-
What does Emily Gaudreau say about parents allowing marijuana use at home?
Gaudreau said making your house the place to come and smoke pot sets a precedent that it is okay, and that “what you allow you approve.” She said a lot of damage can be done to a young mind with marijuana, so education is the biggest thing, and that actually giving kids verbal permission to illegally smoke marijuana in your house is where she draws the line. Asked about alcohol, she said she really doesn’t know the right approach.
-
What is Emily Gaudreau's top parenting advice?
Gaudreau said she usually ends her podcast with: if in doubt, hug your kids and put them outside, rain or shine, in the dirt and riding their bikes. A self-described free-range parent, she believes the safest place for kids is outside playing, and she is more worried about what kids are doing online than about them riding around in a pack on bikes.
Keep Listening
More Episodes
Ep 71
Sep 29, 2020
An Innocent Man on Death Row! Who’s to Blame for the Wrongful Conviction of Jimmy Dennis?
with Jimmy Dennis Watch Episode
Ep 70
Sep 22, 2020
‘60 Days In’ Star Tells All On Life as an Undercover Inmate, Exposes Corruption in Prison System
with Mark Din Watch Episode
Ep 69
Sep 15, 2020
