Why Do My Parents Check My Phone?

Because they

• are nosy.
• don’t have their own life.
• don’t respect my privacy.
• enjoy punishing me.
• care about me and want to make sure I’m safe.

Of course the answer is e. You might feel like they’re invading your privacy or making a big deal out of nothing. But they’re your parents, and they just want to make sure you’re safe from creeps and bad people.

The best thing to do is to sit down with your parents and make a plan. By working together you can make some rules that lets you stay connected with your friends without feeling like your parents are picking on you or going overboard.

Setting up rules means both you and your parents know what to expect and ensures your safety.

A few tips to get you started:

• Agree that if you want to sign up for something that asks for your email, you’ll check with your parents first. Explain what it is and let them do a little research before you sign up.
• Same goes for multiplayer games. Your parents can make sure it’s appropriate for your age and put any blocks in place.
• Come to an agreement on how much time is appropriate to spend on your phone – most smartphones have settings where you can track your time and even have it send you a notification when you’re close to your limit.
• Check out my post about how to avoid online creeps – your parents will be impressed that you already thought about this stuff.

I know it can be annoying sometimes, but parents need to keep an eye on what we do for our own protection. It’s too easy to get into dangerous stuff. Even stuff that seems cool might not be what we think it is.

Tell me what kind of rules you have over on the Nerdy Assassin Facebook page!