parents, do you spy on your kids phones?

No I never do. Why would I? It has nothing to do with me.

Now, obviously, my ears and eyes are working and if something concerning were to stray into my attention bubble then sure I would consider that data.

But you can't be consciously spying on your loved ones to catch them doing something wrong. It's useless to do so - they know more about technology than you do. It's counterproductive - you'll just be looking for their faults rather than their strengths. And it's too late - if you have raised a complete jerkwad, it's because of what you were like when they were 6 months only, not now that you decide to take an interest in being a parent.

When you have teenagers you suspect are doing drugs or something else they shouldn't be doing it's a good way to find out. The way I look at it is if they are paying for the phone, then they can do whatever they want with it, but as long as I'm paying, it isn't spying. It's my property.

And part of it is to prevent them from doing something really stupid. Most kids who are getting up to illegal stuff leave a trail a mile wide on their phones. IF you are going to do something illegal, don't be an idiot about it.

When my kids are old enough to have cell phones, I have already decided that as long as I'm paying for it, I will absolutely hold the right to do random phone searches if I feel it's necessary. Making sure no inappropriate texts are being exchanged, no inappropriate websites are being viewed, etc.

it depends on the age of the kid. if they are too young, I thins it is necessary to spy on the detail usage of the cell, like chats, sites. there are so many online predators online!