Teen Trauma

Many parents think they know their own children and this is probably true for the most part, but no parent can be sure until they can observe their child’s behavior when the child thinks there are no adults present.

Am I asking you to be sneaky, to spy on your kids? Yes. I wrestled with this question for a long time when my kids were little. Should we respect their privacy? Should we let them have secrets and hidden places? Or do we rifle through their rooms when they’re not home? Do we hide behind bushes and follow them when they go outside?

I’m not saying to become so paranoid that you do this on a daily basis, but periodically it’s a good idea.

You don’t want to be one of those parents that when their child gets into trouble say ” not my kid, he/she would never do that “. I have no respect for those kinds of people who parent with their eyes closed. Remember that many kids who become shooters in school or murderers have parents that although living in the same house say they had no clue what their child was into.

What finally convinced me that spying was the right thing to do was when Carrol O’Connor’s son killed himself having been heavily into drugs. Carrol had done some commercials urging parents to find out what their kids were into no matter how they had to do it. Seeing the pain in that man’s eyes convinced me. It’s the parents responsibility to know what’s going on with their kids and in their homes.