The Hidden Cost of Tracking Your Kids

Описание: We tell ourselves it’s about safety.
But what if tracking our kids is quietly costing them confidence, independence… and trust?


With apps like Life360 becoming the norm, many parents are asking: Are we protecting our children — or projecting our anxiety onto them?


In this episode, we unpack what constant monitoring does to developing autonomy, whether location-sharing normalises surveillance, and how to balance safety with healthy independence.


If you’ve ever checked the app “just in case,” this conversation might change how you see it.


KEY POINTS


• Why over-monitoring may increase anxiety — for parents and kids

• The developmental cost of constant surveillance

• How tracking impacts trust, autonomy, and competence

• When location sharing can work — and when it crosses a line

• The difference between safety conversations and safety control


QUOTE OF THE EPISODE


“When parents outsource their anxiety management to technology, children pay the developmental price.”


RESOURCES


• Lenore Skenazy – Free-Range Kids (https://www.freerangekids.com/)

• Let Grow (https://letgrow.org/) movement

• Claire Rowe (https://www.clarerowe.com.au/) (psychologist & parenting writer)

• Should We Be Tracking Our Kids? (https://happyfamilies.com.au/articles...)  [Article]


ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS


1. Ask yourself: Is this about safety — or my anxiety?

2. Replace monitoring with problem-solving conversations.

3. Gradually expand your child’s freedom in age-appropriate ways.

4. If using location sharing, make it mutual and transparent.

5. Focus on teaching capability, not controlling outcomes.


See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.