Being a parent to a teenager; slammed doors, falling grades, wild mood swings, bullying and heated arguments are not new to me. Parenting 21st century kids is no less than a rollercoaster ride, full of pitfalls and unprecedented problems. Linda Esposito, a psychotherapist writing in the Huffington Post says, "Parenting teens is like parenting toddlers -- you're sleep-deprived, stressed out, second-guessing yourself and worst of all, you're dealing with tantrums."
One major problem I believe is technology -- exposure to social media and the influence of tech gadgets. The changing digital landscape is causing a negative effect on the mental health of teenagers. Our teenagers have practically grown in the lap of technology. Whether day or night, I see mine hooked to his cellphone.
IPhones are a status symbol among the younger generation. I can't tell you how excited my teen is at the launch of an iPhone every year. Their voracious use, however, can lead teenagers towards bad behavior as they provide access to numerous apps, ensuring user privacy. In this case, I find an iPhone parental monitoring app quite helpful!
Even when Jeremy Hunt, U.K. health secretary, proposed ban on sexting for kids under 18, he stated that this crackdown on such activities can be done by technology industry. He said via The Guardian: "There is a lot of evidence that the technology industry, if they put their mind to it, can do really smart things."
To manage their children well, parents first need to find the roots of their rebellious behavior. Most parents provide cellphones to their kids at an early age, as they believe their children are entitled to some degree of privacy. Even I gave Sam, my son, his first cell phone at the age of 11, so I've been in constant worry since then.
According to a study revealed by Pew Research Center in 2015, around 80 percent of kids own smartphones while 92 percent of teens who own cellphones are reported to go online daily. Since kids have their own definition of fun, their carefree behavior may lead or divert them towards cyberbullying, sexting, pornography, violence, etc.
Cyber-life of our teens is an inescapable deal, so it must be observed. If they're argumentative or rude towards us, some radical changes may be occurring in their life. Most probably, they're under bad influence. They might have troublemaker friends or they may have come across strangers whose relationship may be toxic for our teen.
I have often wondered what if he's involved in sexual behavior or drugs. Does he talk dirty and break the house rules? I was usually frustrated with his behavior and when I wished to confront him, he would push me away.
As parents, we must handle every situation in an unobtrusive manner so that we do not hurt our teenager's self-esteem. For this, we need to get inside his muddled brain to know what's really going on in his life. It seems no better way is there than iPhone parental monitoring which will give parents an insight into his life and expose his darkest secrets. With all the relevant information about your teen, you can best him at any situation.
iPhone Parental Monitoring to Manage Parental Dilemma
Our authoritative attitude may mean kids becoming more disrespectful. The latest iPhone parental app, XNSPY, can help you cope with your kids like a boss! But let me clear one thing. XNSPY does not control your child's activities, instead, it simply monitors all his activities so that you can make an informed decision about your teen and tactfully keep a hold on him.
The updated version of the app is compatible with all iOS devices jailbreak and non-jailbreak. It enables the parents to continue monitoring in stealth mode so that the teenager will never know he's being spied on. The app offers the parents to monitor calls, texts and chats, email correspondence, track location, view web activities, etc. Some further add-on features I found in the app include: recording phone calls and surroundings, geo-fencing, geo-tags, remote commands to the target phone (Live-screenshots, locking phone screen, wiping data, blocking certain apps), etc.
Whether my teenager is right in front of me or miles away on a school trip, I can keep him safe and remove the bad influences from his life, be it from the potential threat of online predators or friends.
Conclusion
As much as they act smart, teenagers are still kids after all, for indeed adolescence is a hard age to manage. Simply barring them from a certain activity would cause resentment in children. Hence, using a monitoring app can help parents manage their spirited teens without losing their sanity.
