To Read or Not to Read (my DD text messages)

[NeiseyMama]

Wanting to hear from other Mamas out there....do you ever read or "check" your daughter's texts or Instagram posts/pix or Kiks or whatever they are using?

[Kainalu55]

my oldest is 5, so i don't have to worry about it yet, BUT I would probably check if I felt that I needed to.

[Mrs.Pool2Be]

My DD is 12 and doesn't have a cell phone but I would go through it if I thought it needed to be done, but just to do it I wouldn't.

[NeiseyMama]

mine also does not have a cell phone, but has an iPod touch and in this super tech era and with how savy they are there are endless ways for them to text, use iPod as a phone, send msgs with Kik, Instagram, etc.....i do not read them all or often, but from time to time i do look through them just to oversee and make sure she's handling this enormous responsibility and freedom appropriately! realize that she's still young and while she sees herself as all grown up i want to not just throw her out there and hope she figures out how to navigate all this without drowning, lol...know that she may get a little water up her nose, lol...but don't want her in over her head! supervised freedom you might say :) she on the other hand is just livid at this point over it...so we are doing a little "research" together :) thanks for contributing :)

[SlightlyPerfect]

She's 3, but oh hell ya I will be.

[TurboMom81]

I'd read them. If she wants privacy then she can have journal. Texting and online chats will ALL be done in the presence of either her father or I.

[4kidz916]

I would only read them if I thought she had something bad to hide.  Such as if I thought she may be planning on sneaking out, if I suspected drugs, etc.  I have a 20 yo and I never had a reason to check her messages and so far I haven't with my 15 yo either. 

[Kiwismommy19]

Kyra's 7 and has had her phone a month. One of the conditions on keeping it is she use proper spelling, punctuation and grammar to the best of her abilities. So yeah, I occassionaly check that I'm not the only one she's not using text speak with. She only has mine, her dad's, 2 grandmother's, a grandfather's, an aunts, an uncle's, and 2 family adult friends numbers in there so I'm not worried about her sending/recieving anything bad. It's just a way to help her deal with mine and her dad's split so she can contact the parent she's not with whenever she wants, and a way to stay in touch with her out of state grandparents. But yeah, I do glance at a few to make sure she's following the rules.

[Kiwismommy19]

I've checked 2 or 3 times, each time waiting longer since the last. So far she's honest to a fault, plus everyone knows her phone rules and have agreed to say something to her if she lapses into the random string of letter representing words so I don't feel the need to really look that often.

[FionaOgre]

My daughter is 11 and I read her texts.  I told her the minute she says I CAN'T read them, is the minute I take her phone away.

[rockinmomto2]

Maybe I'm the odd man out, but I will NEVER read my kids texts or go through their things unless I feel that something is wrong. My parents invaded my privacy until I moved out of the house at 19 for no good reason other than the fact that they were nosy. I was a good kid who never did drugs, rarely drank, and was ALWAYS responsible. I won't put my kids through that.