Is there ANY way to view my child's text messages?!?

[pigskin072]

My son is always deleting his text messages, and he says that they are none of my buisiness. I was wondering if there was ANY way to view the text messages without having to actually see them on his phone. I really want to know what he's talking about, and he's starting to make me a little suspicious. Can I call AT&T? Can I see them online? Can I get a print out somehow?

Any and all responses will be highly appreciated!

Thanks!!!

[smmonfee]

No you can't.  You didn't say how old he is but there is that program where you can limit his texting and who he can text. That might be an option. Has he given you any other reason to be suspicious?

As to being your business...Do you pay for his service? Does he have a phone due to your generosity? Then you can make it your business. You are the parent. And if his texting causes problems you can always block texting from his phone.  If he is under age, then whatever he does is your business...there are legal ramifications to things a child can do...and sometimes the parent is the one to pay.  So there is ample reason to stay in charge. I can see why his being secretive might make you suspicious, but watch for other things too.

Good luck.

[rnawky]

I'm sure you can..... If you get a subpoena for the text messages he sent.

[jii]

if hes using a smartphone, theres software out there thatll forward messages to your phone w/o his knowledge. youll just have to get it out of his hands for a few minutes to install it.

[eddyjr]

I don't know if or how it works, but I googled "how to read deleted text messages and got this

[auburnred]

Is there anyway to view your childs messages if they have not been deleted without them knowing?

[Zandora ACE - Guru]

You have to get their phone. No other way than as previously noted.

[Athena]

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rnawky wrote:
I'm sure you can..... If you get a subpoena for the text messages he sent.

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You're going to have to have a very good reason to request a subpoena, wanting to know what your child is text messaging isn't going to be a good enough reason.

[Athena]

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smmonfee wrote:

No you can't.  You didn't say how old he is but there is that program where you can limit his texting and who he can text. That might be an option. Has he given you any other reason to be suspicious?

As to being your business...Do you pay for his service? Does he have a phone due to your generosity? Then you can make it your business. You are the parent. And if his texting causes problems you can always block texting from his phone.  If he is under age, then whatever he does is your business...there are legal ramifications to things a child can do...and sometimes the parent is the one to pay.  So there is ample reason to stay in charge. I can see why his being secretive might make you suspicious, but watch for other things too.

Good luck.

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Kids want their privacy, just like adults do.  I see nothing suspicious about wanting your privacy.

[Smurfette27]

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eddyjr wrote:

I don't know if or how it works, but I googled "how to read deleted text messages and got this

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I'm curioius if how the site works. I have heard there was a way to recover deleted information. But that was all I have heard. If anyone tries this. Please post how effective it is.

[Zandora ACE - Guru]

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Athena wrote:

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smmonfee wrote:

No you can't.  You didn't say how old he is but there is that program where you can limit his texting and who he can text. That might be an option. Has he given you any other reason to be suspicious?

As to being your business...Do you pay for his service? Does he have a phone due to your generosity? Then you can make it your business. You are the parent. And if his texting causes problems you can always block texting from his phone.  If he is under age, then whatever he does is your business...there are legal ramifications to things a child can do...and sometimes the parent is the one to pay.  So there is ample reason to stay in charge. I can see why his being secretive might make you suspicious, but watch for other things too.

Good luck.

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Kids want their privacy, just like adults do.  I see nothing suspicious about wanting your privacy.

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Agreed...But kids often do not have the best judgement about what's right and wrong, especially in the gray areas...And often kids will do things now that could never have been done in your and my childhood...Flirt shamelessly (even graphically) via text...sending pictures of themselves or others that should never be sent...

Kids can be secretive just because they're kids, but if a parent has cause to be suspicious, the kids need to allay those suspicions. Not hide behind "we deserve privacy, too" -- until they are responsible for their own well being, the parents have an obligation to ensure that their children are not harming themselves or others (nor planning to do so).

[smmonfee]

Thank you, Zandora, for putting it so well. Sometimes kids can be their own worst enemies.

[CouldBAnyParent]

I agree with Zandora and Athena WHOLE-HEARTEDLY!!!  Furthermore, parents have the legal liability for the laws that their children may violate.  This puts us in the uncomfortable situation of not only caring for the wellbeing of our children and desiring to "respect their need to privacy" but also mandating our own awareness of what they are up to if necessary.  When children reach the age of majority (or have been legally emancipated) and can be held solely responsible for their own actions, then legal ramifications are removed from the parent.  Until such time, there remains the necessity of monitoring our childrens activities.  Failure to do so would abviously and accurately be construed as "Bad Parenting". 

There is much truth in the idiom, "As long as you are under my roof..."

[CouldBAnyParent]

I meant I agree with "Zandora and Smmonfee" not Athena.

[jamileh · Accepted solution]

Since this thread tends to get a lot of views, I wanted to confirm that there is no method to view other people's text messages without physically looking at their phone. 

AT&T does offer a product for Android phones that allows texts to be viewed on a computer but it must be installed on the phone as well. Here is more information about it. http://www.att.com/shop/apps/att-messages.html#fbid=OBu94kyoIZT