Lots of people believe there is a certain right way and a certain wrong way to parent. When really what it is is every kid, every parent, and every relationship

Lots of people believe there is a certain right way and a certain wrong way to parent. When really what it is is every kid, every parent, and every relationship is different. What works for one may not work for others. The same way as every other relationship on the planet works. There are some constants that almost always apply. Don't hit, don't steal, don't abandon, try not to yell. But outside of those, I'm convinced that a lot of what you see as parenting advice out there is just survivorship masquerading as wisdom. Some people get really easy kids, and they confusedly believe that they were awesome parents. Some people get really tough kids and have to try strategies parents with easy kids never had to reach for. Even this is an oversimplification, since there are actually many different dimensions to parenting, not a simple easy to hard continuum. I can absolutely believe there are some parent-child relationships that would not tolerate phone surveillance. There are also parents who would use the capability unwisely. On the other hand, there are children who are not very responsible, and there are plenty of things on the internet and out in the world that can prey on these kids. Only you know your relationship with your kids. "Don't surveil" as a commandment does not fit with the three I mentioned earlier. It's certainly not an absolute.