News WA: Parents hiring PIs to spy on children

Not quite sure which thread this article should be in...

The article was published in The Western Rag (aka the West Australian) Today.

Basically it is about how parents are hiring private investigators to track what there children are doing, in particular in realtion to their childrens suspected drug use. The article is basicallly an advertisement for one PIs services. On the same page in the paper are mini articles on how to confront your children about their drug use... and not lose their trust even though you've been spying on them

http://www.thewest.com.au/20040420/features/tw-features-home-sto123554.html

I think i'm a cynical person...
scratch that... I know I am. So I guess its refreshing that I can still get a shock out of where the worlds heading.
The old parent child relationship 8(

While i think it's just plain bad parenting and i don't agree with it... It's the parents right to go about a subject which is seen as taboo in mainstream society in order to 'look after' their child's wellbeing in their own way.

I read the article as basically encouraging parents to do this. While I understand why parents would want to, I dont think the media trying to create an even more of a 1984 society is a good thing.

Another note.
How is the tactic of befriending the subject to get them talking about drug use?
Next time someone asks me how i'm travelling etc at a rave

How would you feel when you're parents confront you and you find you latest raver buddy is a PI

Sign of the times or just more fear mongering???

Good thing your parents have given up on you hey yes'm?

It is sad... i know i wouldn't trust my parents if they did this... i know they wouldn't as it is a low act and i have spoken to my mum about limited aspects of my drug use.
Personally i would hit the fucking roof if i found out and thing is... i could see people using more drugs just to spite their deceptive/lying/evil parents....

if my parents ever did this to me, i would go ballistic.... no more par-taking in neighbours with mum every night at 6:30 anymore, that would be definate

There was something similar encouraged to parents of a school I used to be associated with. It didnt stop at PI's though, they also included information about the drug residue detections and hair tests you can carry out on your children or their rooms to check if they are up to no good.

Its a tough one really. It is invasion of privacy, but on the other hand they are your childeren and they are completely dependant.

I completely disagree with the idea presented within this article about the use of P.I's to spy on children , However I find it quite amusing how everyone is saying that this invasion of privacy is a breaking of trust between them and their parents. Correct me if im wrong but if your parents are hiring p.i's to spy on you they do not accept drug use and you are breaking their trust using drugs and yet you continue to do so even though you know this?.

How can you be against your parents breaking your trust if your blatantly doing it yourself.

Yeah, its the fact that you don't trust your parents enough to talk to them that causes them not to trust you.

^^ i dont see that as a trust issue.. i know exactly how my folks would react..

my folks arent stupid, and i think folks gotta be pretty stupid to need PI's to find out what their kids are up2. my folks have an idea of my weekend ventures, but ill never fully admit it, or share full details

I dont see how people think this is justified, simply because its done by parents to their kids. Firstly, its not like they're talking about 7 year olds who dont really know anything about anything, when they mention children, they would be reffering to middle to late teens, and even 'children' over 18 ...

"Mr French said the agency would also deal with overseas parents who had children at university in Perth"

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"In a nightclub you can't just approach the subject, you might befriend one of the friends in that circle," he said.

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...unless I've missed something and the universities and nightclubs are packed with kids these days. But anyway, back to the minors for a sec. Even though they are alot younger than their parents, it doesnt mean they dont know as much about drugs as them, in fact they might even know more. I first came across the erowid site when I was 14. I studied it pretty thoroughly and I would now consider my knowledge on drugs to be alot more comprehensive and accurate than the majority of the population. But my parents, who cant see past the 'illegal' status and view weed as bad as heroin, are the ones who know better?

bill joe said:

Correct me if im wrong but if your parents are hiring p.i's to spy on you they do not accept drug use and you are breaking their trust using drugs and yet you continue to do so even though you know this?.

How can you be against your parents breaking your trust if your blatantly doing it yourself.

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So you are saying that if your parents have a certain view, its breaking the trust for the child to have any other point of view? In a black and white world, I can see where your coming from, drugs are bad, parents dont want child using drugs, child has to go behind parents to use(bad), parents go behind child to catch them out (bad). And you know what they say, two wrongs dont make a right

But I think what makes this different is that most people who use drugs dont view them as "bad", atleast not in the same degree as those with drugphobias'. Just as there are those who still think the world is flat; we know better but we choose not to say anything to them because these people just wont listen. "What, thats crazy, ofcourse the earth is flat!!","What, thats crazy, ofcourse drugs are harmful!!" or something along those lines. At any length, I think that most would chose NOT to tell their parents because they think thats whats best, not just for them but for their parents sake too. What they dont know, wont hurt em, so to speak. I can imagine why its supposedly every parents nightmare to get a phone call from the emergency room saying their child is OD'ing, but seriously, the amount of people OD'ing from [ for example, X] is far far far less than those that take it and are fine. Apart from dangerous impurities [the unfortunate result of this countries drug laws], the biggest danger is from uneducation towards the substance, and this effects people of all ages.

The article actually says that most people they follow are between the ages of 16-25


Time to get paranoid people... the next raver buddy you meet and talk shit with while out on it is actualy a PI trying to gather evidence against you...

I for one will never trust another banged up individual... they're just trying to look innocent, fit in, lull me into a false sense of security and then DESTROY MY LIFE



gags

peaked said:

So you are saying that if your parents have a certain view, its breaking the trust for the child to have any other point of view? In a black and white world, I can see where your coming from, drugs are bad, parents dont want child using drugs, child has to go behind parents to use(bad), parents go behind child to catch them out (bad). And you know what they say, two wrongs dont make a right

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No , Having a different point of view does not mean i am betraying my parents trust. Wether or not i posses a different viewpoint its not the issue here , its the actions in which i am partaking wether be right in my mind or wrong in my parents, im going against my parents wishes, behind their back knowing that i am not allowed to partake in drugs and hiding it from them.

Peaked was replying to my post copied and pasted below

I completely disagree with the idea presented within this article about the use of P.I's to spy on children , However I find it quite amusing how everyone is saying that this invasion of privacy is a breaking of trust between them and their parents. Correct me if im wrong but if your parents are hiring p.i's to spy on you they do not accept drug use and you are breaking their trust using drugs and yet you continue to do so even though you know this?.

How can you be against your parents breaking your trust if your blatantly doing it yourself.

Isn't it all about establishing an honest and trusting relationship from the beginning? To some degree it's also about parents staying in touch and taking some active role in their kids' wellbeing. Mutual respect and the ability to learn from each other; that sort of stuff.

It's not about spying, underhanded moves or discovering secrets. Give the poor kids some room.

I could suggest many ways in which to get back at your parents if such tactics were discovered. But perhaps the best course of action is to simply confront them.

^^ My sentiments exactly.

I guess I'm lucky - I was brought up in an environment where I could simply tell my parents anything I wanted about my life. Dad always said drug taking doesn't matter in the scheme of things because it's a victimless crime - the only person you harm is yourself, and he has always believed if it's your body, drugs are your prerogative.

Anyway ranting aside... This really says a lot about parent/child relationships in Australia. I think it's a sad day that parents feel they need to hire PIs to find out what their children are doing, and it says a lot about a distinct lack of communication and feelings of mutual trust between parents and children.

I think parents just need to talk to their children and have a better relationship.... Then they might know who their children are without paying someone to tell them...!

Man my parents would flip if they had spys checking out my activities..

They would think im a party whore! porn star, smokaholic

mwahahah
god damn, lucky my folks arnt that smart or rich ...

^^ maybe we should start closing the curtains hey babe?

bill joe said:

No , Having a different point of view does not mean i am betraying my parents trust. Wether or not i posses a different viewpoint its not the issue here , its the actions in which i am partaking wether be right in my mind or wrong in my parents, im going against my parents wishes, behind their back knowing that i am not allowed to partake in drugs and hiding it from them.

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Point taken. Sorry to be so 'matter of fact' about it, I didnt realise it seemed that way till I re-read my post the next day. Weed makes me do some pretty stupid rants 8)

no problem peaked , thanks for the apology

Hey i know what you mean , when im stoned and post on this board its always a rant also ahahha, keep droppin buddy.