mmarshall

I think you misunderstood my post. I wasn't saying that parents don't have that option (they certainly do) The point I was making, in reply to bagwell's post about teens living at home, is that most of them have little or no practical choice.

And, don't forget.....even for the ones who are lousy drivers, a lot of today's kids are smart when it comes to electronic devices. Stick one on and they may (?) likely find a way around it.

KevinGS

OK, then track them and don't tell them.

To me, it's akin to giving your teenager complete access to the internet with Facebook accounts and such, but never monitoring the accounts. I think teenagers need to be periodically monitored....or else they could make permanent mistakes that could stay with them forever (or for a long time). I'd rather them be mad at me, yet make it out of their teenage years unscathed........rather than "trust them" completely, and they make one huge mistake that they'll regret forever (teen pregnancy, drug addiction, bad car accident, etc.)

I know this is a tough decision for a parent. But many parents are clueless, and their kids have run amok.

I would hope I would make the decision that would protect my child the best, and would allow me to live with the least amount of regret as possible.

About one child every day goes missing, and that's the truly missing children....as this doesn't include runaways or a parent wisking their child away amidst a custody battle. Only about 300 missing-child reports each year fit the profile of an abduction by a stranger or vague acquaintance. So almost one per day. Doesn't sound like a lot, until it's your son or daughter. Then, after the fact, most of us will wish we simply had a tracking device on our child somewhere so they can be found quickly before any potential harm comes. Of course, 80% of the abducted teens are girls, and half are sexually assaulted.

It's a scary world. We have lo-jack for our precious cars, I certainly wouldn't mind having one for my beloved child.

So, in the end, it's not that I solely don't trust them, I don't trust the world around them either.

And I'm an optimist at heart, really...I am

mmarshall

GM just might (?) already have that ability with its factory On-Star system, though, if so, they are bound by privacy laws unless requested by parents or law enforcement.

FrankReynoldsCPA

They would realize you're tracking them the first time you called at 1 am and tore them a new rectum for being in a bad part of town.

KevinGS

LOL

You'd have to become a more savvy parent. You'd have to like send one of your friends or an uncle or aunt over there...and act like they just "happened to be in the area". Then you see their car parked where it shouldn't be, and you make it seem like they got "spotted" by one of your friends or a relative. You ask why they were there. You let them lie. And you don't make a big deal of it, THIS time. But you let them know that this is Strike 1.

The NEXT time you catch them (same method, someone just HAPPENED to spot them), then you ground them. Take away their driving privileges, for lying and going some place they shouldn't.

The third time (and since they are teens, there will often be a third time), you nail them to the wall.

And even if they aren't driving, you can still catch them....just have to send in a 'plant', someone who just happened to be at the same party or event. This may be a good time to become friends with a neighberhood police officer. He or she could just "show up" unexpectedly and nab them.

You do everything possible to keep your surveillance package under wraps.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I would't say i was/am reckless, but if they tracked my car and knew where i was and how fast i was going, I'd be in deep ****

FrankReynoldsCPA

I grew up in a small town driving an 89 Pontiac Firebird......my parents didn't need a tracking device to know I drove fast.

KevinGS

See, a tracking device would have been perfect for your parents.

gengar

Tracking isn't a trust issue if you tell them they're being tracked.

Keep in mind also that parents have an implicit interest in the driving habits of their minor children, since they are often responsible for damages caused.