Do you think parents should snoop on their teens? I think this is a topic not talked about but one that is definitely thought about. Some people might think this is an invasion of privacy. Others believe that if they live under your roof, they are subject to invasion.
I will readily admit that I snoop on my teens. I do it for a few reasons. First, I do it to know what is going on. While I would like to believe that my children will share everything going on in their lives, I know it is unlikely. This is one way that I can find out things they might not tell me. Second, I do it because I believe that I am protecting them. Let me give an example.
One day my 16-year-old son left his cell phone sitting on the bathroom sink. I quickly opened it and checked his messages. He had a text message from a girl that was questionable. It mentioned a particular word that raised a level of concern in me. Granted the conversation between them wasn’t bad but just seeing that particular word made me nervous.
Later on we had a discussion about it. He explained what the text message was about. That eventually led into another conversation about the proper use of cell phones and how he could get into big trouble if a girl ever sent a naked picture of herself. What I found on his cell phone had nothing to do with this but it led the way for this important conversation that I believe was a way of protecting my son.
Third, I snoop because I believe my children need to be corrected when they have done something wrong that I wouldn’t otherwise find out about. I had another instance where my youngest son was banned from a Disney online game. Long story short, I investigated into the situation and quickly found out why he was banned. All I need to say is that he ended up being punished.
Now let me clarify that I don’t snoop on a regular basis. I do it every-so-often and sometimes, it’s when something in particular happens that causes me some concern. I don’t feel bad that I snoop. They are my children and I believe that I need to do whatever I can to protect them and know what is going on in their lives.
Now this has me curious about what other parents think. Do you think parents should snoop on their teens?
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