I spy with my little eye: Is it OK to track your kids?

Keeping your children safe is probably the top priority of most parents, whether that is in the physical world or online.
And while there is no doubt technology and social media has made parents’ jobs harder in many ways, it has also brought a raft of technology that allows parents to track their children’s movements.
An exclusive Nine.com.au poll of readers recently asked, “Is it wrong for parents to geo-track their kids with GPS trackers?”
The poll drew 539 responses, with 9 per cent of respondents saying it was wrong, while 73 per cent said it was not. The remaining 18 per cent said they were unsure.
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NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Lydia Shelly said GPS tracking raised serious concerns about privacy and the autonomy of children.
“NSWCCL strongly believes that children, like adults, have a fundamental right to privacy, and tracking their movements, particularly without their knowledge or consent, infringes on that right,” she said.
She acknowledged that parents had a duty to protect and safeguard their children, particularly when they were very young.
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“GPS tracking may be justified for very young children where genuine safety concerns exist, such as for children who may get lost or be vulnerable in public spaces,” she said.
However, she said this should not extend past the start of adolescence, which begins at 10, without their consent.
“By adolescence, children should have the right to make decisions about their personal privacy, and the use of tracking devices should require their clear and informed consent,” Shelly said.
“It is important to distinguish between safeguarding young children and surveilling teenagers.
“For instance, the idea that a 16-year-old, who can legally consent to sexual activity, could be monitored by parents using GPS or phone tracking apps without consent, infringes on their privacy and independence.
“This kind of surveillance risks damaging the trust between parents and children and may even lead to legal and ethical concerns.”
Shelly said apps that track phone activity “also expose children’s private lives in an intrusive way.”
Psychologist Sandy Rea said while there were a number of valid reasons why adults might choose to track their children, she urged parents to be upfront.
“I think it is a discussion that should be had with every child, no matter what the age,” she said.
She suggested parents use age-appropriate language to spell out their reasons and listen to the child’s thoughts.
“For the child to feel safe versus not having overprotective parents, the child needs to be aware why the parents want to track them,” she said, adding past trauma, grief, loss of a child, marital discord, divorce and domestic violence were all valid reasons.
However, she warned there was “a very fine line” between ensuring a child’s safety and developing or inducing “anxiety, fear [and] overprotectiveness.”
Rea said parents should stop tracking their child once the child requests it stops and she recommends “never going behind [the child’s] back.”
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“The consequence may then be ‘sneaky behaviour’. The child will then go behind the parents back because ‘that’s what you did to me!’
“And even if the parent has specific reasons to want the tracker, at some point we have to foster our trust in them and their independence.
“The rider here though is having the relationship with your child that you know they are reliable, mature and consistent in where they are.”