Parental monitoring includes 1) the expectations parents have for their teen’s behavior; 2) the actions parents take to keep track of their teen; and 3) the ways parents respond when their teen breaks the rules.
You are using parental monitoring when you ask your teen
- Where will you be?
- Whom will you be with?
- When will you be home?
You are also monitoring when you
- Check in with your teen by phone.
- Get to know his or her friends and their parents.
- Talk with your teen about how he or she spends time or whether he or she is making safe choices.
- Set and enforce rules for your teen’s behavior by clearly explaining the rules and consequences and following through with appropriate consequences when the rules are broken.
Monitoring should start in early childhood and continue throughout the teen years, evolving as children grow and mature. As children develop into teenagers, adults might view them as more independent and less in need of monitoring. But, consistent monitoring throughout the teen years is critical—teens’ desire for independence can bring opportunities for unhealthy or unsafe behaviors.
