Quote Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl View Post
Wow, do you guys really do this kind of stuff? Don't you respect your kids privacy? Haven't you raised them to make good decisions on their own? What will they do when they are suddenly living at college if they've had no time to ease into personal responsibility? Are we really that different? We gave our kids the max degree of freedom we thought they could handle, with the expectation that with freedom comes responsibility. In turn they knew they had to bring home good grades, etc.
From my view, we have a responsibility to protect our kids. I trust them to make good decisions, and that trust is most often affirmed. BUT, I do not expect them to make good decisions always...and that's where a parent's protection kicks in.

Until they are 18:
- privacy is a privilege, not a right,
- trust is earned, not given.

Have our kids earned our trust? Yes they have.
How have they earned it? By us observing what they do when they don't know we're watching.

SilverDaughter is 17 and I never check her stuff anymore...she's proven that she's her own person and doesn't require oversight.

SilverSon is 14 and has made good choices so far, but he is still young and impressionable.