Call me “Overprotective Mom.” I openly admit that I tracked my teen’s cell phone, and I’m not ashamed of it. My son is a great kid, and I genuinely wanted to trust him. However, as he transitioned from junior high to high school and took on the monumental task of learning to drive, I found myself at a crossroads. I could either drain his college savings by hiring a private investigator to follow him around, or I could opt for a more straightforward and budget-friendly solution: phone tracking.
Let’s face it; teenagers are just as determined as toddlers when it comes to testing the limits of parental authority. The key difference? They’re usually taller! Left unsupervised, teens can encounter various dangers that could lead to consequences far worse than a scraped knee. I realized that my son needed boundaries—just as he did when he was little, perhaps even more so.
To establish those boundaries, I turned to GPS tracking. I’m pretty sure that when tech genius Steve Jobs created Apple’s Find My iPhone app, he didn’t anticipate it being used by parents to keep tabs on their teens. During my son’s middle school years, I embraced my inner detective and discreetly installed tracking software on his phone. This led me to monitor his activities through four key stages:
Stage 1: Safety
This phase could also be dubbed “Just Making Sure You Can Be Located in Case of an Emergency.” Initially, my focus was on preventing danger. If my son went hiking with friends, I wanted the reassurance that he could be found if something went awry—like a snake bite or getting lost in the wilderness (despite the fact that we don’t have snakes in our area). Knowing I could pinpoint his location allowed me to grant him the freedom to explore new experiences.
Stage 2: Validation
Ironically, I thought this stage would be crucial for confirming that my son was where he claimed to be. However, I found myself relying on tracking less than expected. After four years, my monitoring led to only one minor revelation. One summer before his sophomore year, a group of older girls took an interest in him and his friends, who weren’t yet licensed drivers. Though I allowed him to hang out at pre-approved locations, he wasn’t permitted to ride with anyone else. One day, when I hadn’t heard from him in a while, I checked the tracking app and discovered he was at a park several miles away instead of the beach where I had dropped him off. “Where are you?” I texted. “At the beach,” he replied. Busted! He ended up sitting next to me in the car, listening to my lecture on trust and honesty. Thanks to my tracking, I learned he had broken the rules, but he never did so again.
Stage 3: Convenience
As I moved into the third stage, I was open about using the tracking app. Once I explained to my son that the Find My iPhone app on his phone was linked to my account, it became a tool for easily making plans. While most parents emphasize that teens should never text and drive, I took it a step further by requiring my son to keep his phone locked in the glove compartment while the car was in motion. But this communication blackout often left me clueless about his whereabouts. Logging into my phone allowed me to quickly check if he was still at practice or nearby, which made planning dinner a lot easier.
Stage 4: Reassurance
I admit, I’ve always been a bit of a worrier, and GPS tracking was a cost-effective way to ease my anxiety. Sometimes, I would forget to ask my son to text me once he arrived at a destination. Instead of bombarding him with calls, I could quietly track his phone to confirm he’d made it where he needed to be. This became particularly useful late at night when I would wake up wondering if he was home after curfew. With a quick glance at my phone, I could see that he was safe and sound at home, allowing me to rest easier.
When my son graduated and upgraded his phone, I briefly thought about asking him to install tracking software on his new device so I could keep an eye on him while he was away at college. I was only half-joking. After all, I still had his younger brother to keep tabs on. If you’re interested in more about parenting and tracking tools, check out this insightful post on tracking technology.
In summary, tracking my son’s phone allowed me to balance my need for reassurance and his growing independence. Each phase of monitoring served a unique purpose, ultimately fostering trust and responsibility between us.
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