Do you think it is okay for parents to secretly go through their childrens things?

Answer 1

Answer

Yes and no. While parents may want to know what their children are up to, parents also should respect their children enough not to go rum aging through their personal properties. On the other hand if you have a girl or girls and you suspect that they are possibly having sex way too young, the perhaps its okay to go through their things, but if you want to keep the respect of your children, don't ever tell them that you have gone through their things.

AnswerWhile a parent is a parent, and must protect and nurture their children, a child's personal space must be respected. Think about it from a child's point of view: What's theirs is theirs, and when other people touch and look through their personal possession's with out their permission they're liable to get upset, angry, and irritated at said person. Have an issue or think your kid is doing inappropriate things? TALK TO THEM. Your instincts aren't always right, and searching could potentially start a huge family fight. Think your parents are rummaging through your stuff? Again, TALK TO THEM. Try to understand their reasons and discuss the cause of this search. This might make talking sound easier than is actually is, but it is a lot better than "Don't ever tell them that you have gone through their things." Or always having the nagging thought that your parents might be snooping through your stuff.

Answer 2

The issue, of privacy, is not yet decided. It's an unanswered legal question. Whether children also have a right to their privacy, even if they're not of legal age, is not decided within the U.S.

Answer 3

It may seem unfair, but children technically do not have "possessions". Parents buy the clothes, shoes, story books, toys, electronics, etc. that children have. So technically, these are the parents' possessions given to a child. A parent can remove or withhold an item as punishment--no law exists to prevent this. Some parents have "cleaned" a child's room when the child refused to do it, and threw out everything. Whether this is right is not a legal question. As long as a child has adequate food, healthcare, clothing, shoes, schooling, no one will take action against a parent for taking away a kid's phone, PC, games, etc. to teach a lesson or as punishment. Adults face the same real life punishments...if we don't do what we need to do, like go to work, we don't have money for toys we want.

However, there may be a clear difference with say an inheritance. If a child inherited cash or expensive item, the court might order a parent to put the cash into a protected account on behalf of the child.

Answer 4

They do have that right, so it's not a matter of should, and yes.