Should parents track their children?
Some parents feel safer knowing where their children are at all times.
What you need to know
There has been a rise in apps and services that allow parents and guardians to track their children.
The apps can provide parents and guardians with their children’s location when they’re outside the home.
Tracking apps work by monitoring the location of a device such as mobile phone, smartwatch or smartband. Some of the apps can also track a young person’s messages, phone calls and social media activity.
Life360, a location-tracking service designed for families, has more than 32 million users. It is one of the most downloaded apps in the UK and the US.
Tracking apps that allow parents and guardians to monitor their child’s location and movements are becoming more and more common. A study in 2019 showed that 40% of parents and guardians in the UK were using some kind of tracking app every day. A 2020 survey found that 33% of parents of children aged five to 11 in the US use tools to monitor their child’s whereabouts. With tracking apps, parents can feel connected to their children even when they’re not at home and young people enjoy a sense of freedom. Although many parents like the peace of mind of knowing where their child is, some people think that tracking invades the privacy and freedom of young people and it damages trust. What do you think? Should parents track their children?
Yes – it gives parents peace of mind
Tracking apps give parents and guardians the location of their child while they are out without having to ask them lots of times, which can be annoying for young people. Tracking apps mean that parents and guardians not only know where their child is, but they can also set alerts for themselves so they know when their child leaves a place or is on their way home. This gives parents and guardians peace of mind without being overbearing. Instead of being anxious while their children are out, parents and guardians can relax knowing they’ll receive alerts if their child is running late. Tracking apps also give young people a taste of independence, especially if their parents would otherwise not let them move around so freely.
No – it invades young people’s privacy
Tracking apps take away a big part of childhood – that sense of freedom you feel when you go out without a parent or guardian. If young people know their grown-ups are “watching” them, they won’t have that same thrill and sense of freedom. Children may also feel that apps invade their privacy and that they can’t go anywhere without their parents or guardian (virtually) following them. Young people may also become worried that this is only the beginning of grown-ups monitoring their activities. Parents may also become dependent on tracking apps and not learn to trust their children, even when they are young adults. Children need to have true freedom so that they can learn responsibility.