YES, You Should Spy on Your kids Here’s How and Why

The internet is truly a whole new world. With new technology appearing nearly every day, parents can be at a loss for how to protect their kids. How much privacy should you give your child? Is online and offline privacy different? What is spying on your kids and is it the right thing to do? If you are a parent, you have probably ask yourself these questions and more. 

In this article, we discuss spying on your kids, why you should do it, and the best tips for online and offline spying. 

What do we mean by spying on your kids? 

The word spying has a fairly negative connotation. Most people might think that spying on your kids would be a bad thing. We discuss the moral implications of spying on your kids in the next section. However, it is worthwhile to mention what we mean by spying. 

You will not be heading a spy organization like the CIA when you spy on your kids. What we really mean by the word is that you are monitoring their online and offline activity. Nanny cams, tracking apps, and more are all ways to spy on your kids.

Some people may even call spying on your kids just good parenting. Knowing where your kids are, who they are talking to, and what they are watching is the responsibility of a parent. 

Is spying right? 

This brings us to the question probably forefront in your mind: is spying the right thing to do? We would argue yes, but with caveats for the age of the child. Little children should be monitored constantly. Young childhood is when kids learn the rules of the world. You don’t want to let them get off to a bad start. Plus, very little children are probably attached to your hip all day every day. It isn’t hard to know exactly what they are doing at all times. 

As your kid ages, they will need and want more separation from you. This does not mean that you should let them do whatever they want without any supervision. Healthy separation and independence are good. However, never forget that a teenager is still a child. It is completely within our rights as parents to ensure they are not getting into trouble, especially in the new world of the internet. 

Does it matter?

At the end of the day every parent, or parenting team, will decide the need for spying and how much they monitor their children’s activity. Because this is a personal choice, whether it is “right” or not is really beside the point. The real question is whether you want to spy on your kids. 

On the pro side, there are many dangers of the modern world. Cyber bullying, sexual exploitation and abuse are all common on the internet. Whether in video games or social media apps, there are many horror stories about things going wrong for kids online. The offline world has different, but similarly dangerous challenges as well. Many people decide to use spy apps to monitor their kids to steer them away from the dangers of the world. 

Some claim any surveillance of your kids is a bad idea. You don’t want your children to feel like they live in a “surveillance state.” Thus, many parents choose a middle ground. They give their children some freedom as they age but use spy apps to conduct random checks or monitor especially worrisome online sites. 

Spying tips 

Once you decide to spy on your kids, you need to learn how to go about it. Here are a few tips for online and offline spying. 

Online

We mentioned online spy apps above. These are probably the best way to spy on your kids online. There are a lot of spy apps to choose from. Most can be downloaded onto your kids phone. They then monitor all the kid’s online activity. This may include texts, emails, social media accounts, website browsing history, and so on. 

Some of our top spy app recommendations include the following. 

• mSpy: This spy app monitors social media sites. It also allows you to see your child’s activity in real-time, which is ideal in catching predators online. 

• Bark: Bark is a spy app for iPhone users. It monitors your child’s text messages, YouTube, emails, and social networks. You can also choose content filtering and screen time management options. 

• Net Nanny: This is one of the oldest spy apps around. It was first released in 1995. You can use it on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and KindleFire. It provides a website blocking feature, screen time management tool, and location tracker. 

• Eset: Eset is actually an anti-malware app. However, it provides internet security for parents as well. You can block websites, block non-age appropriate apps, set time limits for screen usage, and track your child’s location. 

Offline

In addition to your spy apps, you can use offline spying techniques as well. Many of the apps mentioned above have location tracking services, which allow you to know where your child is at all times. You may also choose to set up nanny cams to monitor babysitters and your children when you are not at home. And, of course, by being a constant presence in your child’s life, you will organically know what they are doing and who they are talking to. 

We live in a scary new world. But through spy apps and some of the techniques discussed in this article, you can keep an eye on your kids at all times. The more you know, the better you will be able to keep them safe.

Eric Farley

I’m a time-served web developer who has a knack for testing spy apps and hacking techniques. My goal is to raise awareness about cybersecurity by proving that every security system can be breached.