Father and son stay in touch with cellphone tracking app
Dear Abby: I have a 17-year-old son. He spends half his time with me and the other half with his mom. My question is about his cellphone.
I can use an app on my phone to see the location of his phone. A friend of mine tells me I shouldn't stalk him or spy on him this way. She says it shows I don't trust or respect him. My son knows I can — and do — check on him using the GPS function in the phone, and he can do the same to locate me.
Checking on him from time to time gives me some comfort. I can't see who he's with or what he's doing, but I can see if he's where I expect him to be.
What do you think? Am I harming him by checking on him? Or am I "stalking" him, as my friend says? — Dad Who Cares in Ohio
Dear Dad: You and your friend appear to have different parenting styles. As long as your son is aware that you occasionally check his whereabouts, I don't consider what you're doing to be either harmful or stalking. As a parent, you have a right to know where your minor child is, and the GPS feature you describe has been known to save lives in the event of an emergency.
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