Our oldest child turned 13 last month!!  We have allowed her email access for several years, and until recently, we haven't been too concerned to monitor her use of it.  We also allowed her to buy her own cell phone last year with babysitting money, and while her obsession over it was annoying, we weren't too concerned with her use of it until recently when she discovered boys.

I have learned over the years that people behave differently over email than they do face-to-face, and IM or text messaging is no different.  A few weeks ago, my family was driving in-town, and I became aware that my daughter and a girlfriend were doing a lot more giggling than usual from the back seat of the suburban.  I found out that they had been text messaging with a boy who my daughter is now calling her "boyfriend". (ugh)  It was at that point that I began my search for a service that would let me monitor my teen's text messaging activity.  I had no idea that I would find such a rich set of features as are provided with the Radar service!!  Not only has it provided me visibility into her text messaging activity, but also all other phone and email traffic.  She now uses her Blackberry to access her same old email account that she's used for years, and I get to see all inbound and outbound messages!

Here's the neat part: We communicate more than we have in years!!  She & I talked about this new phone and it's Radar features before she got it.  She understood about my visibility into her activity, and although she rolled her eyes a bit at the idea that I felt that it was important, she didn't argue about it.  Since receiving the phone, there have been several questionable messages that she & I have discussed, and it's been great!  I promised not to make a big deal over every little thing, and she has promised to maintain certain standards around content and language. 

One of the unanticipated features of Radar is our ability to manage her phone's calendar and task list using the web interface.  I have assigned her various tasks, as well as schedule a number of activities and events that I want her to remember.  Interacting on this level also gives me the opportunity to sneak in little "I love you" notes, which are a nice way of sweetening our relationship...something that frequently fades over time between a dad and his "baby girl".

It's tough being a teen, and being the parent of a teen is no cupcake either!  Thank you very much to the folks who brought us Radar!!  Every little bit helps, and being able to see into this area of my teen's life has been a great help!

Thanks Radar Folks!!