real talk my mom never invaded my privacy, always knocked and waited for my “come in” instead of barging into my room, never tried to read my texts or journals or notes, and I always came to her with sensitive subjects; to the point of telling her I lost my virginity the /day/ I lost my virginity
what I’m saying is: respect your kids’ privacy and they will come to you with shit you’re worried about them doing
take it from someone raised the opposite; not respecting your kid’s privacy and rooting thru all of their shit, making them feel paranoid etc, will just turn them into a very good liar who withholds everything/makes up convincing stories and is really good at hiding things from you right under your nose.
My dad just didn’t give a shit what I did with my life. School all but had to extort my education to get him to show up to parent/teacher evaluations or pay for field trips etc. Never invaded my space because there was nothing of interest to find there.
So that’s how you grow up with crippling lack of ego and an absolute desperate need for attention.
I hate the type that knocks but comes in anyway no matter what you say. Or don’t say.
Or the type that reads your siblings’ texts but OH WE’D NEVER DO THAT TO YOU
or makes you feel utterly unwelcome and barely tolerated but OH WE LOVE YOU UNCONDITIONALLY
christ on a cracker…
I lived what @camdawn went through. It was abuse.
I’ve heard enough horror stories to know that spying on your kids is abusive too.
Respect your kids’ privacy, but also care for and about them.