CNN Correspondent Kelly Wallace wrote a piece on spying on your child entitled “Is it okay to spy on your kids?”
Thanks for nothing!
Hell yes it is okay to spy on your kids. Without a doubt. With the way social media is today, the nuts out there, and the lack of common sense in today’s kids, as sure as there are little green apples it is okay to know what is going on in your tween or teen’s life.
Who are their friends? Who do they communicate with? Where are they going?
Every parent has to be vigilant. And you can never be too vigilant. Too many children, especially girls, are lured into dangerous situations by the criminal element that prays on the internet just trolling for an innocent to come along.
Far too many parents today are living their worst nightmare when it comes to missing teens and other tragedies because of social media, or because they respected their child’s “right” to privacy.
And I learned from the best.
My parents had one thought when it came to my privacy: I didn’t have any. End of sentence.
They wanted to know the five “W’s” every single day: Where are you, What are you, What are you doing, Who are you doing it with, and When are you coming home. There were a few “how’s” in there too, but the W’s were utmost on their “to-know list.”
Some experts think its an invasion of privacy and its wrong, or so says Lori Day an educational psychologist and author of “Her Next Chapter,” a book about a mother-daughter book club.
“It’s a good way of sabotaging your relationship with your child if you get caught,” she said.
I say “bupkiss!”
My parents had no worries about invading any of my privacy or our “relationship.”
They had a very simple, compelling argument: “If you don’t do anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide. Whatever you do and with whomever you do it with is unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt our business.”
Day went on to say that she still feels bad about catching her mother reading her diary
“I haven’t forgiven her for it,” she said. “I don’t want my children to feel the same way about me.”
Boo-hoo!
My advice to Day is build a bridge and get over yourself.
Another mother, Janeane Davis, said it best when she stated “Just as it is my duty to feed, clothe and shelter them, it is my duty to monitor their behavior and protect them from potential harm.”
The piece also suggested that we change the word “spy” to “monitor.”
Not for Nuthin™ These experts can call it whatever they want, but knowing what your child is up to is what I call being a good parent.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
