Parental search

[huginnmuninn]

Should parents have the right to search a childs room?

[MalditoDia]

yes and no. they can do it cuz there the parent but i know id be pissed if mi madre did that.

[Jess]

Yes...they are the parents. they have the right. a teen/child shouldn't fear a search unless they are hiding something bad or whatever.

[Vonn]

That's such an obvious spot. Nobody hides things in their room anymore, so go ahead and let them search.

[Neptune]

Yeah, they should. They're paying the bills. If you are hiding something, hide it good.

[Jupiter]

I say, they shouldn't have anything to be hidden.

[Amnesiac]

Yes, they should, since the child's living on their property and using their property. And besides, isn't that a parents' job? To monitor their children so they don't grow up depraved and insane?

Now, if the kid was living on their own with their own stuff, I'd say otherwise.

[DerBear]

Yes they should have rights and they do/can search rooms of the child

Although my parents have never searched my room I cannot tell

[Modus Operandi]

Do they have the right to? Yes.

However, doing so without provocation (i.e. kid shows up at 11:30 at night smelling like pot) shows a profound lack of trust toward the child.

[SimplyTom]

Their house their rules, if you dont like it move out

[aperson444]

Within reason yes, but I feel that only if evidence is clear is such an act sanctioned. Parents pay for children and everything, but children are humans as well. Beyond a particular age, there should be well defined rights to property search and seizure. Even in the parents' house. Just like a person who is paying rent/board to live in the house. If they have a meth lab in their room, I think that warrants search, reporting and seizure, but if there's a mild stanky smell, then I think it's time to tell your kid/tenant to clean up.

I don't think anything indirect really warrants a search. If the kid comes home very very late and is obviously stoned, then just standing by would be ridiculous even if such behavior is rare and not really seen. But if the kid has one of those pieces of evidence stuck to them (smell, red eyes, lateness) then I think it's better to either ignore it or ask some questions in a non-threatening way. When I was young and stupid (i.e when I was 13 or 14), I used to stash my weed in the most obvious places (a locked drawer). They did not even have to purposefully search my stuff. I do however remember a very annoying situation where I came home from a walk (normal time -- 3 or 4 pm) and went to the bathroom. I also put my wallet and my phone back in my drawer. For some stupid reason, my dad decided to go through my stuff. I had to yell at him for him to notice that I was literally right behind him. Unwarranted. Most kids end up gaining some sort of intelligence from being caught, and they start hiding stuff better (like under carpets, inside boxes, just stashed away).

[Luves Everything x]

Parents should be able to search rooms, as it their house, and their responsibility to look after their children, but only with the kid knowing. If they search their room behind their backs, then not only is it really distrustful but it could damage the relationship between them, which would do more harm than good.

[Infidelitas]

They're your parents. You live by their rules.

[Amaryllis]

Yes and no. My mum searched my room and found my blades. Believe me, that was horrid. She did not react well. She got angry, hit me and asked me not to do it again. As if it's that easy.

She used to read my journal as well. My recovery journal was extremely... Personal. I was very angry at her. She showed the blades in front of all my relatives and humiliated me. My relatives told my relatives.

She's my mum. But since my father's a sick pedophiliac whore and my mum's angry and arrogant, no. If they're "normal" and you have nothing too bad to hide, sure.

[Luves Everything x]

Even if you have nothing to hide though, surely your parents should have more trust in you then to go around snooping through your things. If, in the future, they ever moved in with you, or you had any room mates, you wouldn't feel the need to go searching through their stuff, so if your parents trust you, they shouldn't feel the desire to go through your room.

[xXl0sth0peXx]

I've debated this for a while.. Because I keep journals and blades and such in my room..

Even if I didn't have that stuff in my room, I'd probably say no.. Just because what reason would they have to go digging through my room? Unless they thought something was wrong.. Why else would they?

Although my mom does it anyway..

[StoppingTime]

Yes and no. My mum searched my room and found my blades. Believe me, that was horrid. She did not react well. She got angry, hit me and asked me not to do it again. As if it's that easy.

She used to read my journal as well. My recovery journal was extremely... Personal. I was very angry at her. She showed the blades in front of all my relatives and humiliated me. My relatives told my relatives.

She's my mum. But since my father's a sick pedophiliac whore and my mum's angry and arrogant, no. If they're "normal" and you have nothing too bad to hide, sure.

I think that they can search for whatever they want in your room, computer etc... They are your parents, they support you and stuff like that :)

However, what they should not do is what they did to Z. If they find your diary, or your blades, or anything super personal, they should just keep it to themselves, and I don't think they should have read your diary either.