Recent arrest of coaches causing concern for Central Coast parents about teen texting
Inappropriate text messages have lead to the arrests of two coaches on the Central Coast in the past two weeks, causing some concern for parents.
Texting has become part of most teens daily routine; while it’s convenient, parents say their children having the ability to text whoever, whenever its concerning.
“Now a days there’s so many people out there that could contact them with ill intentions,” says mother of three, Chantel Long.
KION looked into how parents can monitor their children’s text messages and limit screen time or websites. The app Google Link Family allows parents to control how much screen time kids can have and what sites they visit.
One app called SaferKids Text Monitoring App actually shows parents who and what is being texted.
Some parents liked the idea of a third party app, “yes I think it would be, to actually be able to in the background check on it without constantly seeming to nag at them,” says mom Diane Sterling.
While Long prefers just checking the phone itself, “”I feel like the information might be compromised through that third-party app and you never know who’s running that app, I guess I’m just a paranoid parent I just would rather have them give me their phone and I know all their passwords.”
As for teenagers we spoke with, they understand the concern, but think their should be privacy limits, “”I think they should be monitored to a certain extent just to make sure no body is doing anything harmful,” says 14-year old Chance Allen.
