With so much advancement in technology, it’s no wonder more parents are looking into apps that can help keep their teenagers safe. One of such apps that have gained popularity are location tracking apps for parents and for teens.
Your teen, as constantly battling you for more freedom, may not like that you’re “spying” on them, but there are clear benefits for both you, the parent, and the teen from using a family locator app. In fact, there are some things that need to be addressed and discussed before installing a location tracking app.
Below are some of the best tips to help you navigate the murky waters of deciding for or against tracking teens’ location.
What should parents track?
There are two types of parental control apps out there; tracking your teen’s phone activity or tracking their actual location. While both apps have valid and help parents in achieving the goal of protecting their kids, you might want to discuss with a co-caretaker which tracking app might work best for your family and your lifestyles.
Additionally, have an open discussion with your teen about what areas they’re comfortable with you tracking. Tracking their in real-life activities isn’t the same as watching what they do online, especially with some of those apps even monitoring messages. They may feel differently about your access to nearly everything they do online vs. tracking their location.
With a family location tracker app, you may not know what your teen is doing, but you’ll always know where your teen is whenever and wherever. This may feel less intrusive than online monitoring and may be a good compromise with your teenager.
Build trust with your teen.
Installing a location tracking app on your teen’s phone will be easier to do once you and they have developed a close relationship and a solid foundation of trust. If your teen knows that you are installing the app for safety reasons and will not be hovering over them in their daily lives, they’ll agree more readily on installing a location tracking app.
You may also want to consider sharing your own location with your teen as well. Leading by example and making your location available to the teen may help build trust between you two and may also make for a fun and convenient experience for both you and your teen.
For instance, your teen could request items while you’re on a grocery run or have a chance to clean up their room before you arrive home. This will give your teen a chance to start seeing a location tracking app a convenient tool for the whole family.
Does your teen drive?
If your teenager is a permit driver or a recently licensed driver, they are exposed to new dangers that approach them from the road. You, as a parent, may want to be the first person know if your teen gets into a car accident, as well as being informed on how safely your new driver is driving.
Having a location tracker app, especially ones with a Driving Report feature, may be helpful for both you and your teenager to make sure that they are safe out there on the freeways.
Most Driving Report features track what dangerous events may occur while your teen is driving (i.e. rapid acceleration or texting while driving), as well has helping both the teen and the parent visualize it to ensure that the teen is building safe driving habits.
Knowing that such a feature is available for both parents and teens might help your teen come around to the fact that family locator apps are actually for their benefit and not used to limit their freedom.
It can be a slippery slope… but it doesn’t have to be.
Location tracking your teen can be a slippery slope. The teenage years is the stage in parenthood where you need to grant your teen more freedom, but also ensuring that they are safe until they can reach their adulthood.
It’s also a time there will be a lot of friction between you and your teen, but there are definitely ways to navigate it.
While tracking your teen’s location can initially seem like a tool to restrict them for your teen, having important discussions can help your teen feel safe while they are experiencing new things in the world. It can be a message to your teen that you support their exploration, but will always be their safety net as the first point of contact if anything bad would happen.
In conclusion, tracking your teen’s location may be a hard conversation to have but note that they will be protected in the world of today that is much scarier than the one most parents grew up in. Be sure to make the best choice for your family after having the right discussions and getting both your teen and your partner on board.