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Think twice about those cheese fries — Mom’s watching
By Victoria Lindsay
It is critical that high school students are able to have a little more freedom; this is what is going to help them to become successful adults.
A recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that parents whose children attend Hartford Union High School are able to track exactly what their children do while they are in school. This includes being able to see exactly what food their children purchased for lunch.
I am all for parents playing active roles in their children’s lives, but it seems like the ability to keep tabs on your high school students every moment of the day is going overboard. Once you reach high school, you are finally able to become more of an independent person.
It is critical that high school students are able to have a little more freedom; this is what is going to help them to become successful adults. Granted, these students may make some poor decisions, but that is all a part of growing up. We all learn from our mistakes — it builds character.
If I were in this situation, I would feel like my privacy was being violated. Why would my parents need to know exactly what I had for lunch while I was at school? In fact, I can’t imagine my parents being all that interested in my food interests enough to log in to a Web site.
There are benefits to this new electronic age of parenting, such as parents being able to see if their children are skipping school. If you have a child who lacks the responsibility to attend school, that is an issue you have to address. The parents need to look inward at themselves and how they parent their child.
Trying to combat truancy is one instance where I could see the need for parents to be able to keep track of their children. What about the children who don’t skip school? If they are responsible and well behaved there is no need for their parents to be constantly checking in on them.
Also, these are teenagers we are dealing with. They are most likely going to resent this. I know that I would feel like I needed to rebel if I knew that my parents where keeping track of every single move I made. That’s frustrating.
Here you are, in high school and finally feeling like you are getting a little bit of independence and freedom, and you’re still constantly under your parent’s scrutiny. I’m not saying that high school students should be allowed to do whatever they want, but they shouldn’t feel like they are doing something wrong because their parents are able to watch their every move.
They need these freedoms, as small as they may be (for example, choosing their own lunches) in order to grow. Here’s a novel idea for parents, if you want to know what is going on in your child’s life or what a typical day at school is for them, ask them.
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