There is nothing more disturbing and trust-breaking for a teen than to know about being secretly monitored. When kids enter their teenage, it’s a crucial phase. They feel more confident about their rights and privacy. Any such act of monitoring without even telling them will be taken as a gesture of insult. So if you have been thinking about monitoring their device without consent, think again. If your kids will lose trust in you, it’s going to take some while, or maybe forever to build it again.
The most suitable way to resolve this issue is by telling your kids about monitoring beforehand. And by that I mean telling them everything— what kind of data you will be extracting from their smartphones and tablets, how often you will do that and most importantly, why would you want to monitor their electronic devices.
Ideally, you can put up this stuff on their smartphone contract, before your kids will be getting their hands onto the first smartphone. You are spending on their new smartphone, and telling them that they will be monitored as a condition will make it easier for them to agree.
If your kid already has a smartphone, you will be required to do it the other way around. Tell them you want a written contract on their smartphone use and ask them to provide their opinion. Also mention that they will be monitored just for their personal safety.
Build Trust
If you have not been working on building a relationship of trust with your child, do it now, as it is a prerequisite for monitoring them. Present the case for monitoring them as a challenge take on
additional responsibilities.
You can also mention that acting in a certain way can help them earn privileges and rights that they may not have otherwise. Smartphone use can be the perfect way to motivate teens to do so. They will be ready take a lot of new restrictions this way, trust me!
There must not even be the slightest implication that you don’t trust your kid. Your conservation will determine everything—an over-protective tone will make them listen to you and chances are they will let you do monitoring.
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