I read this article and I can't see what is the point of being able to veiw the childs text messages other than finding more reason to ground the child, really sexting is something that I think would be more bad then good if you catch your child doing it and for bullying I seriously think children would have the sence to just show their parents that these kids are bullying them, if they are clean then they have no reason not to.
But aperently these people think that it is a good idea to monitor kids text messages, and I am wondering what you think on this subject.
*please give a reason to why you say it is a good idea or a bad idea, no short responces please since they add nohing to the discussion*
I think that when it comes to any form of sexual activity in kids, punishment is absolutely the worst thing you could do. Then they don't learn the proper attitudes toward sex and they end up being uninformed or misinformed by peers.
I think this applies to sexting as well. If the kid is doing something that endangers their welfare (like sending photos or sexting someone who is, say, inappropriately aged for them), then you probably haven't done the most awesome job as a parent in educating them and developing their self-esteem to a point where they don't feel it is necessary to do stuff like that. Sex isn't a problem with kids--it's the way they approach it. Invading their privacy isn't the solution, and it will probably encourage them to be even more sexually deviant.
I think this would be a huge invasion of privacy and could lead to more "brilliant" ideas. But I don't think you should be allowed to view your child's phone unless they let you or are under a certain age, such as 11 or 12. Teens should be given room to grow and can't do that well if someone is always looking over their shoulder.
In this situation, there really is no right answer. The only thing that's wrong here is letting the state pass a pretty pointless law. "Letting parents see a kid's texts" is kind of a responsibility of the parents in this situation that comes with caring for your child.
If a mom or dad decides to parent their child in a manner that permits the child freedom of using the phone for whatever purpose they wish to serve, that's their decision as a parent. As long as if the kid doesn't do anything illegal, no harm no foul.
If a parent wants to use the "I paid for the phone, I'm paying for the bill, the least you could do is let me make sure you're not peddling smut via text" reason for monitoring a more strict maintenance of the child's phone, that's their decision as a parent, too. Again, no harm no foul.
But the state trying to pass laws that control the lives of the individual goes against everything this nation stands for. It's another step towards the uber-powerful government of the USSR that we worked half a century to best. The government and the self should stay separate as long as if the law remains unbroken.
I don't like this bill. It's a compleate invasion of privacy. I'm pretty sure most parents don't hand their child a phone and say "now, I pay for the service on this. And I'm just letting you know that I own this. I'm just letting you use it. If I see something I don't like I'm shutting you off." Then, this situation might be a little more understandable. But, if you tell a child "here this is yours." Then, they're going to assume that it's theirs. It's like my bedroom, no I don't pay for it. But if I put up a poster that you don't like, can you get rid of that too? It's understandable if a rule is set before, you punish, but not after. I just feel like kids are seen as more of property then of actual conscience people to some parents. Not all of course. My dad, fully reconizes me as his equal and a person. My mom though, says I will never be her equal. So I can see both parents thought process on this.
I was disgusted with some of those comments on that site you linked to. It seems no one trusts their kids at all, and that they would rather have their child on a short leash than allow any freedom with risks. Especially those people saying that minors have "No rights" and that everything they have is a "rivelege". EVERYBODY deserves the right to be happy and free. Sacrificing freedom for security is not a right answer.
Now a huge problem here is variety. Some people are more mature than others. We can all hope that our children are mature enough to know a good choice from a bad choice, but we know most are not.
Now where is the harm? Drugs are the worst mistake anyone can make. Dropping out of school is not a good choice either. Sex can get your life far too confusing early if you don't know what your doing. Before you make a decision, pause and ask yourself what the different results can be, considering the worst possible result.
I can understand where a parent would be coming from. There's the whole argument of safety. Sometimes i think parents love and care too much about their children to think logically. Our parents were raised different and thus this whole generations view and involvement in sex etc is totally new to them too.
They don't realize punishment and a total lack of trust isn't the way to go about such matters.
I think the thing parents need to concentrate on is education, not punishment.
Drugs are the worst mistake anyone can make. Dropping out of school is not a good choice either. Sex can get your life far too confusing early if you don't know what your doing. Before you make a decision, pause and ask yourself what the different results can be, considering the worst possible result.
Drugs are not the worst mistake someone can make in their life. People can bounce back from drugs. Dropping out of school has helped people further themselves in a career etc. It all depends on the individuals, the motives and what can arise from a situation.
Wow that just made me remember when I saw seriously children being lead around by their parents with leashes, it was disturbing at first, but then by the tenth time of seeing it ou get used to it.
Drugs are the worst mistake anyone can make.
You mean drug abuse, big difference in the way of phrasing that.
Especially those people saying that minors have "No rights" and that everything they have is a "rivelege".
Yea it's quite annoying when adults think that, but usualy the people who think that way I am with for only a half hour or less but I'm quite glad I don't have parents like that, but the parents on that comment page definatley sounded like they thought way, but you could never be sure because the anonymity makes people more outspoken.
No. I dis Agree.. I know sexting is bad and you shouldnt do it. But parents shouldnt be able to read our texts because its between ur self and ur friends/girlfriend/ETC. Yes parents SHOULD be able to punish their child for sexting but only if they knew or had a hunch.
No. I dis Agree.. I know sexting is bad and you shouldnt do it. But parents shouldnt be able to read our texts because its between ur self and ur friends/girlfriend/ETC. Yes parents SHOULD be able to punish their child for sexting but only if they knew or had a hunch.
yup. if say, the child send it to their parents by mistake, or the kid leaves their phone with their mom and it pops up, well then they are screwed. but i do not think that it is right for parents to invade their childerns privacy by doing this.
Yes parents SHOULD be able to punish their child for sexting but only if they knew or had a hunch.
But HOW would that solve anything? It's not like sexting is inheritently bad, it's pretty much porn in text messages, you don't ground your kid for watching porn, you just might be angry and have a talk with the child. It's bad because of the consequences that COULD happen, but not the actual act, it's like not building a 50 story buiding because it could topple over easier than a 5 story building (not promoting sexting here) The actual building of the building is not bad, but the topple is quite disasterous.
