SOUND OFF: SNOOPING ON KIDS' E-MAIL

My readers differed on whether it's OK for a parent to read his or her teenager's e-mail without permission:

"At the age of 13 children are vulnerable," writes Bert Hoogendam of Sarnia, Ontario. "Hence parental vigilance is not only advisable, it is necessary."

Mary Dodge of Lynchburg, Va., agrees, adding that a parent is not a child's friend or buddy, and needs to know what's going on in his or her child's life.

On the other hand, both M.W. Bruening of Salt Lake City and Janice Eisen of Brookfield, Wisc., believe that parents should never read children's e-mail without their knowing.

"Reading your kid's e-mail without his knowledge is a violation of trust that, if discovered, is likely to drive your child away from you," Eisen writes.

Renee Chapman of Yorba Linda, Calif., writes that, when her children -- now 25 and 22 -- were growing up, she knew their friends, ate meals with them, kept the computer in a common area, supported their educational activities, talked with them and worshiped with them.

"And, yes," she writes, "when our parental radar sounded, we snooped."

The answer, perhaps, lies in balance: "It is a 50/50 call," writes Patrick Burris of Charlotte, N.C. "Supervision is one thing and intrusion another."

Check out other opinions at http://jeffreyseglin.blogspot.com/2006/12/sound-off-parents-who-spy-on-kids.html or post your own by clicking on "comments" or "post a comment" below.

Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of "The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business" (Smith Kerr, 2006), is an associate professor at Emerson College in Boston, where he teaches writing and ethics. He is also the administrator of http://www.jeffreyseglin.com, a Web log focused on ethical issues.

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