Home : Family : Teenagers : Children and Privacy

Children and Privacy, tips and advice

Privacy is something that every adult feels is important, and the importance of privacy is taught from a very young age. When your child is learning their own boundaries, wanting to keep things from others, explore things that they don�t know if they are allowed to see, do or have you as a parent have a right to know about what they are doing, and you shouldn�t feel bad about having to invade their privacy as you are protecting them from problems, and hurtful situations. 

How much privacy should a child really have?
The amount of privacy a child should have does depend on their age. For the very small and young child, very little privacy is needed, as the child should be dependant on you to make all of their decisions. As the child is a little older, reaching their teenage years, a little more privacy should be given at they are starting to develop and use their own decision-making abilities. 

It is difficult for every parent, but as your child does grow and mature they will demand more privacy, as their lives will become their own business, this is all a part of loosening the parental strings and moving on with their lives. Part of making this transition very easy for you and your child is that you should keep the lines of communication open as much as possible in the case that your child does want to ask you what to do, how to do something, or just to tell you more about their life. Open lines of communication, without your demanding to know will help you trust your child make their own decisions in life and to make the right decisions for their selves. 

When you have a child living with you, no matter what age they are keeping your relationship with your child an open one is going to help the both of you. When you respect your child�s privacy they will in turn learn to respect other people and your matters as well. Asking instead of demanding is the important difference as child continued to grow and mature. 

As your child grows older, nearing their teens telling him or her more about yourself, more about your job, your ideas or your life is going to help your child understand you. Your child won�t see you just as a parent anymore, but more like a friend, and a trusted person that they can talk to you about anything. The more that your teen trusts you the more likely they will open up to you about their lives and what they hold most private in their own lives. 

If you find that you have a hard time discussing or asking your child something, do it when you are in the car or when you are on your way home from somewhere. This is where both you and your child have to face what is being said and no one can walk away. When you keep your lines of communication open even when they are difficult times, it is going to help in the long run. Now that you have a plan to talk, you just have to get the nerve up to say it aloud. Talking doesn�t meant hat you are going to breach any types of trust or privacy issues, just that you will give your child a chance to tell you anything that might need discussing or talked about. 

Sometimes an invasion of privacy can�t be avoided. When you feel that your child is in trouble or that something is wrong, looking through their room, at their computer or talking with their teachers is your right. Protecting your child has to come before worrying about their being mad that you found alcohol or drugs in their sock drawer. If you feel that your young child is going �down� the wrong road, or that something is really bothering them sometimes invading their privacy is the only way to solve the problem or at least start tackling the problem. Remember this is only something that you should do when you feel you have no alternative or that the lines of communication with you and your child are not working at the time. 

Privacy issues for children and parents will also mean that they need privacy in the bathroom and in their bedrooms. As children grow, mature and change their minds feel that their bodies need more privacy when dressing and such. This is a normal change for every person, and parents should learn to knock on doors, and ask permission before entering a room to help everyone�s personal privacy issues when living in the same house.