HOW acceptable is it for parents to snoop on their children using the latest technology?

Is it OK for you to look on their social media, checking posts? Is it acceptable to use a tracker app to monitor their phone and check their location?

Today, parents have probably never been as obviously concerned about their children’s welfare because there seem to be more threats against them. Technology has not only made communication so much easier, it has also made it so much easier for undesirable individuals to communicate with our children. And from a frighteningly early age.

It’s unsurprising that some parents have become almost paranoid in the way they check their children’s lives. And what, several of you may be saying, is wrong with that?

Basically, not very much. My only fear is how easy it is for us to go completely over the top, thanks to the devices and services available to aid this.

Then, especially with our older teenage children, we not only infringe their basic right to privacy but show them a lack of respect that threatens the relationship all round.

Any parent’s argument would always be quite simple: it’s all about protection. We love them so we want to do our best to keep them safe, and that’s fine.

But, we all develop by making our own choices in life. Parents show children, by example and by talking to them, what are good and safe choices and then hope that they take these routes.

We all know, though, that children may unwittingly put themselves into dangerous positions, and so some parents will justify more extreme behaviour.

Restricting your child’s ipad and phone settings to help protect them makes good sense, as well as checking the posts of younger children to try to keep them from cyber bullying and sexting. With older children, the subject needs some discussion before any action is taken but this is definitely the thorniest area.

With all this in mind, how far away are we from installing a chip in our children like we do with pets? While this really worries me because of its wider ramifications around control and freedom, I bet there are people now nodding and thinking “that’s not a bad idea, actually.”

The reality is that if ever there was a subject that was all about compromise, this is it. But we still need to take action.