Choosing how and when to monitor your student is important whether you home school or use the public school system. How trust worthy is the child both in setting academic goals and social interactions? Does your student do their school work willingly and well? When they go with friends are they always where they say they will be and not causing any problems?If you have built a level of trust and honesty with your student then they will probably maintain that level even when you are not watching them. When they misbehave or do something that is not exactly right do they tell you or do you have to find out from someone else? When we were raising our children we always told them to tell us not let us find out from someone else. When they admitted to misbehaving in some manner then we dealt with it in light of what ever it was that they had done. Such as: They had an egg fight in the house one day and finally called me and said what they had done. My reaction was to tell them to clean up the mess and they had to do chores to pay me back for the eggs they broke. I have to admit I laughed after I got off the phone! My children saw the justice in what they had to do and we built a great level of understanding and trust between us.

All children do silly things that is part of the growth process! But at what level does your child do this? Do the participate in dangerous activity? So they sneak off to do harmful things? Does your child behave when they do not know they are being observed? All of these variables come into consideration when choosing how closely to monitor your child. Where you live is an other consideration. Do you live in the country where it is unlikely your children will run into strangers? Or do you live in the main part of a major city where there is a lot of people coming and going everyday. Is there a park or other area where gangs or other undesirable people hang out and will your child access these areas when you are not watching them?

It is important to build a level of independence in our children. They need to feel that they can come to you with any problem and know when to get help! If we monitor them to closely then they never find the confidence to stand up tall on their own. We will not be able to be by their sides for ever and we need to know they will be great on their own!