How to Monitor Your Child's Text Messages

As more children gain access to communications technology, parents must make it their priority to monitor who their children communicate with. Monitoring your child's texts is one way to guarantee that your children are kept safe from harm. A number of programs are available today to help parents monitor their child's cell phone. To learn more about how you can monitor your child's text messages, check out the following guide.

Introduction
- As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure our children are practicing safe communication when it comes to texting and instant messages. Sometimes, however, we need a little extra insurance. The following information will demonstrate how you can keep an eye on your child's text messages.
Step 1: Benefits of Monitoring Your Child's Texts
- We want to know what are children are doing at all times, and one way to monitor their activity is through keeping an eye on their cellphone activity. Sometimes kids are using their phones at inappropriate times, sending messages they should be not sending, and in some cases communicating with people they have no business talk to. Monitoring your child's text messages will give you an idea of when they are using their phone, who they are contacting and what types of messages they are sending. This way if your child is using his phone inappropriately, you will be the first one to know about it.
Step 2: Text Monitoring Ethics
- Many parents may feel at first that monitoring their children's text messages is unethical; after all, don't children deserve a certain level of privacy? However, if you so choose, monitoring texts can alert you to information about and numbers of:
1. School bullies
2. Drug dealers
3. Child predators
Communication
- It is essential for you to be open with your child about why you are monitoring their text messages. Some children may feel that you are needlessly invading their privacy, but if you are honest with them about your concerns, and explain that it is not them that you are monitoring, you may be able to avoid some of that resentment. Approach the subject with a sense of interest in your child's life, rather than with an authoritarian attitude, and they may be less likely to resist the notion of you monitoring their cellphone activity. Do not try to hide the fact that you are monitoring your child's text messages from him, as many of the companies that provide this service also send a text to the monitored phone on a regular basis.
Step 2: Tracking Software
- A number of different companies now provide tracking software, for a fee, that allows parents to monitor their child's incoming and outgoing cell phone calls and texts. Calls are tracked and made available for parents to monitor online, and information may even be forwarded to the parent's cell phone. Companies that provide this technology include:
1. My Mobile Watchdog
2. Mobile Spy
3. Disney Mobile
4. AT&T
- Another advantage of the tracking software is that if your child is missing, you can track their phone to find them.
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Step 3: Is Your Child's Phone Compatible
- Before you invest in the tracking software, you will need to make sure that your phone is compatible with the software and able to be tracked. You can check this information by calling the service provider, or asking the representative when purchasing the phone. It may be a good idea to buy the phone before you buy tracking software.
Step 4: Follow-up
- It isn't enough to simply track the incoming calls to kids' phones; parents should also communicate with their children throughout the process and follow up with them about the information they've learned.
1. Ask questions about unknown numbers:
  1. Who was it?
  2. What did they say?
  3. How did they get the number?
  4. Why did they call?
2. If your child has frequently given out his number and constant unknown texts or calls are coming in, it's time to sit down with him and carefully review safe phone practices.
Conclusion
- Keeping children safe from predators, bullies and other negative influences is an important priority for a parent. Monitoring kids' text messages will ensure that you, as a parent, are in the know about who is contacting your child and why. Technology allows parents to track and monitor text messages and cell phone calls so they can keep track of their child's communications. Following up with your child about unknown numbers and callers promotes safe communication practices that will hopefully allow you to sleep a little easier at night.