Once-a-month I get together with three good friends. We spend a lot of our time talking about our teens, bragging about the good things and sharing the struggles.
There have been times where tears have been shed, prayers have been offered and laughter has filled the room. It is a time that I greatly look forward to each month.
This past month we were talking about the unique challenges we face today as parents. It struck us so funny that we laughed for the longest time, when I brought up the biggest concern for us was that someone would be listening to our phone conversation on another line.
That was my era, trying to sneak in phone calls and hoping that your mother didn’t quietly pick up the receiver in another area of the home. Think about how much times have changed.
Today we have lost virtually all control over their socializing, thanks to technology. At best, we can log into the account of our cell phone provider and look at the phone numbers that have been dialed and received.
We can even find out how many minutes have been spent both talking and texting. But we can’t even monitor their text messages because most of the teens are smart enough to immediately delete them.
As my friends and I were talking, it quickly became clear that one of them had no idea what an iPod’s capabilities were. She thought her son only used it to listen to music. She couldn’t figure out how my son and her son had been communicating through Facebook when her son never uses the computer.
She didn’t realize he could access Facebook through his iPod. But not only that, iPods also have the capabilities of texting and doing what is called “Face Time,” which allows users to see and talk to one another.
Monitor your children? It’s a great idea but I am here to tell you that it is becoming much more difficult. As soon as you find a way to do it, they find another way to avert it.
Times have definitely changed. If only we could quietly pick up a line and hear what is going on. Now most parents are pretty clueless. And the only way to avoid that is to make your home technology-free.
Have you found unique ways to monitor your teens, despite the advancements in technology?
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