(Photo : Pxhere.com)

The world, although beautiful, can be full of darkness as well. We cannot take away the bad guys in this world, thus, we need to be very careful and protect our children from harm. Sexualization is one thing that parents are afraid of, especially for their teenage girls. Children and teenagers can be sexualized despite them being young. You may never know what harm or danger it is out there for them. But there's one important thing that parents should know about sexualization-- and that is it is an unhealthy type of sexuality. 

What is Sexualization?

Sexualization, as defined, is the process of showing and emphasizing the sexual nature of one person. Sexualization can come in 4 forms according to the American Psychology Association (APA):

• A person's worth is only assumed to come ONLY from his or her sexiness

• When a person is expected or encouraged to act and dress sexually.

• When an individual is used as a sex object rather than being seen as a whole person.

• Sexiness is only and mainly indicated by physical appearance and characteristics. 

Sexualization affects not only to women but also men as well. It knows no gender. Another term for sexualization is it is a type of psychological defense mechanism wherein people use sexual behavior as a means of controlling their anxiety. 

In the generation we live in today, it is a part of our culture, whether we deny it, that one's sexuality equates self-worth. This is influenced because of pop culture and also other forms of media. A lot of advertising campaigns and promotions that we see on the news, social media, magazines, newspapers, and even billboards encourage people to stay in shape and that being thin or curvy makes you more beautiful and sexier to everyone. These messages are also shown on different mediums such as on televisions and radios. 

How To Protect Your Tween from Sexualization

It may be hard to protect your teenagers from exposure to the outside world, but you can always be the cautious parent and educate them with certain learnings that they can use when they are being sexualized. To protect your tweens from sexualization, here are some things you can do:

• Avoid buying into the sexualization of tweens by avoiding all media trends and hype that includes sexualization. 

• Help them learn and educate them about healthy sexualization even at an early age. This way, they will become more aware of sexualization and what they should do about it when they will get into a situation where they are sexualized. To teach them, you may:

• Teach them more about their appearance

• Teach them about sexual activities that they have and haven't engaged in.

You may start teaching your child at an early age by telling them their self-worth and that they don't need to comply with what other people's meaning of being beautiful and sexy is. Build their self-confidence and train them to make smart decisions about sex or sexual activity when they come to the situation in the future. This will help not only protect them from sexual predators but will also teach them to protect themselves.