There are always those people who are restricted by the parents. The kids who have to delete their messages every time a curse word is used or whenever someone makes a poke at something inappropriate so they don’t get grounded. The sad truth is, some parents think that their kids will look at bad things, or do drugs, or something horribly wrong and that the evolution of technology and parental controls allow them to stop it. No matter how you put it, restricting your kid and robbing them of their privacy is wrong.

First, is the issue parents present most often: “Well, it’s to protect them! The world is more dangerous than ever!” Actually, according to data from www.justice.utah.gov and www.usprisonculture.com, the rate of juvenile and adult crime in the United States has been decreasing since around 1995, and hasn’t gone up since.

The “Digital Age” is said to have begun somewhere between 1980 and 1990. Crime is at an all time low ever since technology had its big boom, but parents want to have an excuse for their tyrannical theft of privacy.

Also, parents complain about their children being disrespectful and “spoiled brats,” who always find a way around their control. Well, many say that this is because there is no mutual respect. The parent, acting as a dictator, demands respect without giving any in return.

In a debate on http://www.makeuseof.com on the subject, Ryan Dube argues: “Now of course, there’s no foolproof way to prevent your children from getting into trouble. In fact, it will probably happen no matter what you do. But respecting your children and giving them some degree of privacy will allow you to forge a much stronger relationship with them based on mutual trust, instead of them seeing you simply as an evil dictator who they must work to avoid.”

Another article from http://www.youthrights.org agrees, also talking about how it’s better to trust that your children will come to you when they see something, and helping them learn from those experiences: “First and foremost is respect. You probably know it as something you expect from your children without question. Did you know that you can also give respect to them? Give it a try. Yes, I know, you’re the parent and giving your children respect may seem backwards and inappropriate and perhaps even makes you feel demeaned, but it is an excellent tool. It even invites your children to respect you without needing to extort them into it or punish them for not doing it. And this is genuine respect, not the fake respect you get from extortion and punishment. Genuine respect may not give you the immediate feeling of having someone smaller and perceived inferior to you fear you, but you’ll find in time this works wonders not only in your children’s growth process but also what your long-term relationship with them will be.”

Simply respecting your kid works wonders, and changes the need to follow your every order, to the want to do that and more. It eliminates the need for control and dictatorship, because there’s trust. Restrictions aren’t necessary. In fact, they only create issues. There’s less evil to protect them from than ever before. Don’t think of control and power, think of respect.