262: Tracking Teens: Safety Tool or Trust Breaker?

Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Raising Tweens & Teens

Dr. Lisa Damour/Reena Ninan

Mental Health, Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Parenting

4.7 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You check your phone and your teen's location is off again. Are they okay? Are they hiding something? …And should you even be tracking them in the first place? In this week's episode, Dr. Lisa and Reena dig into one of the most common standoffs happening in homes with teenagers right now: location sharing. A dad writes in about his 16-year-old son, who has started turning off his location. The kid wants privacy and autonomy. The dad just wants to sleep at night. Who’s right here? 💡 YOU'LL LEARN: - What tracking your teen is really about: peace of mind or safety? - What's really going on psychologically when teens turn off their location - How to have an honest, non-combative conversation with your teen about location sharing - Practical compromises that protect your sanity without damaging your relationship We'd love to hear from you: Are you currently tracking your teen? And how are they handling it? ________________ Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Raising Tweens & Teens is the essential podcast for parents seeking expert guidance, tested strategies, and psychological insights on raising kids, especially tweens and teens. Join renowned clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour and former journalist and mom of two Reena Ninan as they explore real-life parenting challenges. Looking to learn more about how to boost kids’ resilience, build their confidence, or support their emotional well-being? Dr. Lisa and Reena have got you covered! Together they address listener questions about stress, anxiety, social media concerns, school pressures, and challenges in peer relationships. Each episode provides practical advice and science-backed solutions to help parents raise resilient, confident, and emotionally healthy kids. Tune in every week for the latest topics in parenting, child psychology, and family wellness. Get answers to your most pressing parenting questions. New episodes drop every Tuesday. ________________ Episode keywords: tracking teenager location, teen location sharing, should I track my teenager, teen phone privacy, teenager turning off location, location sharing teen autonomy, teen independence vs safety, tracking teen on iPhone, find my teen location, teen privacy rights, teenager wants privacy, teen trust issues, monitoring teenager phone, helicopter parenting teens, teen autonomy development, parenting teenager safety, giving teens independence, teenager driving tracking, teen location app, should parents track kids, family sharing location teenager, teen psychological autonomy, how to talk to teenager about trust, teen privacy vs safety debate, parenting without tracking, teen rebellion privacy, raising independent teenager, teen independence, power struggle with teenager Podcast keywords: ask lisa podcast, dr lisa damour, reena ninan, psychology, parenting, podcast, teens, tweens, parenting teens, parenting tweens, teen parenting, tween parenting, parenting tips, parenting advice, positive parenting, parenting podcast, teen behavior, tween challenges, raising tweens, raising teens, parenting hacks, parenting help, family dynamics, kids podcast, mental health, teen mental health, attachment styles, emotional intelligence

Transcript

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0:00.0	Tell me a parenting issue everyone struggles with with tweens and teens, but no one talks about.
0:06.6	Rina, I think a lot of people feel like they just don't know how to connect to their kid anymore.
0:12.8	I'm Rina Nainan and welcome to Ask Lisa the psychology of raising tweens and teens.
0:17.6	And I'm Dr. Lisa DeMore.
0:19.1	We bring you science-back strategies for managing anxiety, discipline, intense emotions, and more.
0:24.6	We decode tough parenting issues with tips you can use right now.
0:28.6	So subscribe to Ask Lisa the psychology of raising tweens and teens and join our YouTube community today.
0:35.6	Just Google, Ask Lisa Podcast.
0:38.0	We're here to help you untangle family life.
0:43.2	Episode 262, tracking teens, safety tool or trust breaker.
0:54.1	You know, one of the things about parenting that I love in the digital era is you can kind of see where your kid is.
1:01.9	They can kind of see where I am, how close I am to pick up if I'm really, really where I say.
1:07.7	I am.
1:08.3	I'm on my way.
1:09.1	I'm on my way.
1:10.2	That's exactly right. Exactly right. But I love
1:13.3	that we're taking on this topic about, you know, is it really okay to continue tracking your teens
1:17.9	as they get older? What do we need? How do we need to think about this? I'd love to get into
1:22.2	this letter, Lisa. Yeah, do it. Dear Dr. Lisa, I'm writing because I'm stuck in a standoff with my 16-year-old son,
1:29.4	and I'm not sure what to do. Until recently, we used location sharing on his phone. It wasn't
1:34.7	something we talked much about. It was just part of the deal, mostly, so I knew he got where
1:40.0	he said he was going and could find him if something went sideways. A few weeks ago,
	...

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