Mark wrote:

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 10:57:15 -0500, "JerryL" wrote:

snip
But back to the original deal. If I think something is going on with my
kids
that isn't right and listening in on a phone call will let me know for
sure -
I'm going to do it. Period.

If you don't trust your kids to use the phone, then they shouldn't be
using
the phone.

If you were a parent who gave a ****, you'd do things differently. Phone
trust has nothing to do with anything.


When my son was a teenager I listened in on his conversations, whether on
the phone or behind his closed door when he was with his friends. Had I not
done this, I don't know what kind of troubles my son would have gotten into
at that time. Sure he bitched, moaned and complained about his privacy but I
didn't care. As long as I was responsible for him, I did what I thought was
right. Now he's in his 40's with 3 boys of his own and he admits that he
would have gotten into trouble had I not monitored his actions. If ever the
State thinks they can do a better job than I can as a parent, they are
welcome to take care of my kids, stay up with them all night when they are
sick, walk them to school, take them on vacations and pay for their care and
worry about them as much as I do but as long as all those duties are mine,
I'll do it my way.

Bottom line, that's what it comes down to. Well put!
----------------
That's because you're an idiot and don't grasp the secondary effect
she had, to never actually be able to know what was really going on,
to teach her son how to lie better and keep secrets, and how to
disinform when he believed she was listening in. But much worse, to
make her son realize that she was on her OWN side, and not on his,
and that he couldn't really count on her for anything.

Our kids could count on us not dishonoring them or trying to control
them by dishonor, and thus they told us everything.
Steve