From "Parents Shouldnt Spy on Their Kids" by Kirsten Weir in Nautilus.
A parents desire to spy might have less to do with keeping kids safe, and more to do with a burning desire to lower his or her own anxiety.
We can trace a path over time from feelings of privacy invasion to higher levels of secrecy to parents reduced perceptions of knowledge about their children, says Skyler Hawk, a social psychologist who studies adolescent development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
If parents are engaging in highly intrusive behaviors, it is ultimately going to backfire on them.
And covert spying, Hawk adds, isnt likely to stay covert for long. Most kids are more tech savvy than their parents. Odds are good theyll discover those tracking apps and figure out how to hack the systemleaving their location-tracking phone in their locker when they ditch class, or setting up a second (secret) Instagram account.
Setting goals allows kids to experience growth socially and emotionally by helping them develop self-regulation skills, gain responsibility and build confidence.
Parenting is about flow, sustainable habits, and family values—not rigid goals and resolutions and left me feeling like a failure when I didn’t hit the mark.
ParentCo.
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