I don't snoop yet because she's only 11 yrs old. Once she hits the teen years I plan to snoop. DD can have privacy once she turns 18.

I treat my son with the utmost respect and i do trust him. He's a very good kid (thank goodness).  I don't need him to break my trust  for me to snoop.  However it's a crazy world out there and no matter how much you trust your kids there are certain things that as a parent you need to monitor and be a step ahead with. Yes i do snoop through, cell phone, myspace and facebook. I wouldn't even call it snooping because i tell him that i will randomly check his stuff.   NO need for me to snoop through his room but will if i feel like i need to.  I don't eaves drop on him.  My DS is only 13 and is in the adolescent stage so YES i  monitor all his things.  Not fanatical with it but at 13 the only privacy you have is taking a shower.   Im the parent and he's the child and that's the way it is in our house.  I'm the parent.   It's not your own kid you shouldn't trust, it's the world they are exposed to.  No matter how great a relationship i have with my son and we do have a great relationship, kids are kids.  There are things a kid no matter how much you think they will tell you, won't.   As a parent we have to know what our kids are up to, when we are not with them. it is a different world from when we were growing up.  If he is 18 and still living under my roof then you best beleive i will question whatever i need to when i need to.  I won't need to snoop but come right out with it at that age (18).

Respect has little to do with it I think, It's trust mainly.  A quick sweep won't hurt especially if I;m doing the laundry. but if they did something to break that trust-it's prison rules!! Now it would have to be something pretty bad to deserve that, though.

These are all such seperate issues.  I dont think I'd even evesdrop on a phone conversation nor read a diary (unless it was out in plain sight) But I plan to fully snoop on my children on the internet.  But I will make that clear, so it's not nessecarily snooping as much as it is monitoring.

I voted that I snoop but I don't... yet.   My kids are too little.   When the are older though, if there is some distrust I will snoop.    I did too much sneaking as a child not to.  

originally posted by shoegal12

I treat my son with the utmost respect and i do trust him. He's a very good kid (thank goodness).  I don't need him to break my trust  for me to snoop.  However it's a crazy world out there and no matter how much you trust your kids there are certain things that as a parent you need to monitor and be a step ahead with. Yes i do snoop through, cell phone, myspace and facebook. I wouldn't even call it snooping because i tell him that i will randomly check his stuff.   NO need for me to snoop through his room but will if i feel like i need to.  I don't eaves drop on him.  My DS is only 13 and is in the adolescent stage so YES i  monitor all his things.  Not fanatical with it but at 13 the only privacy you have is taking a shower.   Im the parent and he's the child and that's the way it is in our house.  I'm the parent.   It's not your own kid you shouldn't trust, it's the world they are exposed to.  No matter how great a relationship i have with my son and we do have a great relationship, kids are kids.  There are things a kid no matter how much you think they will tell you, won't.   As a parent we have to know what our kids are up to, when we are not with them. it is a different world from when we were growing up.  If he is 18 and still living under my roof then you best beleive i will question whatever i need to when i need to.  I won't need to snoop but come right out with it at that age (18).

I agree with you.  I wouldn't call it snoping either, because my children know that I check on everything that they do so that I am sure that they are safe.

My kids are not old enough for me to have to snoop into those things yet but FOR SURE I will be...IF I feel the need to. I love my children so much and will not let their secret lives destroy them if I can help it. Yes they have to learn to make their own decisions and I cannot and will not control them. What I will do is make it my business to know whether or not they're doing drugs, or getting bullied and not tell me, or so depressed that they're about to kill themselves. Crushes and bad test scores are the least of my concern. I will snoop if I feel the need to if their safety is at risk.

I should also say that "the plan" is to raise them so that they trust me and my husband to tell us when they're in trouble, but having been a teen before myself, I know that that is not always the case.