We want to get a iphone for my son, but I would like to know if there is a way to set up controls so that he is not able to delete his texting history.
Thanks
Thanks
disable history delete
- Thread starter Ellyn808
- Start date
There is no need to worry about his deleting his texting history - you can see who he's texting, when he's texting, and from whom he's receiving texts right on your AT&T bill.
Massie
Well-known member
ghostface147
Well-known member
markhunsaker
Well-known member
No, there isn't a way to keep his text history. The down part of the iPhone is you can delete individual texts from the threaded history. So he can delete parts but keep others...
If you need to be keeping track of his texts, an iPhone is not what you should get him. I suggest an iPod Touch and a normal phone.
If you need to be keeping track of his texts, an iPhone is not what you should get him. I suggest an iPod Touch and a normal phone.
Massie
Well-known member
It's probably worth mentioning too that any kid could likely find a way around that restriction, even just by using a different messaging app.
ghostface147
Well-known member
iquinn
Well-known member
Very well put, if it is that big of an issue then the child is not ready to have any cell phone let alone an iPhone.
If the child knows you are going to view their texts, then they will find another way to communicate. You can't monitor their phone calls, Instant Messaging, personal messages on Facebook and Myspace, email (if they delete it right away), webchats, and face to face conversations, so let it alone. In this day and age, you can either lock your kid in the basement, or do your best to instill morals and values and hope for the best. Trust me, my parents reading my texts and emails was the least of my concerns. A good trouble maker knows never to leave writen evidence 
Idiots
You people don't research things very well do you? If you get him an iPhone you are most definitely going to need to jailbreak it. By doing that you are able to install software on the phone that will monitor EVERYTHING THE PHONE DOES. you can even see in real time his iPhones screen from your computer monitor. The software runs in the background and they will never know it's there.
The website is w w w (dot) mobile - spy (dot) com. Instructions on how to do everything are on the site and they have customer support if you need help. Hah, Please the iPhone is the BEST phone to get someone if you want to monitor what they do.
Btw there's also gps tracking. See where your son is at all times.
*****ALSO, DOES NOT WORK WITH VERIZON IPHONE. ******
You people don't research things very well do you? If you get him an iPhone you are most definitely going to need to jailbreak it. By doing that you are able to install software on the phone that will monitor EVERYTHING THE PHONE DOES. you can even see in real time his iPhones screen from your computer monitor. The software runs in the background and they will never know it's there.
The website is w w w (dot) mobile - spy (dot) com. Instructions on how to do everything are on the site and they have customer support if you need help. Hah, Please the iPhone is the BEST phone to get someone if you want to monitor what they do.
Btw there's also gps tracking. See where your son is at all times.
*****ALSO, DOES NOT WORK WITH VERIZON IPHONE. ******
Do you fear your son to be a drug dealer or a pimp? I mean, surely their gonna try to hide things and before they ever say anything that would get them in trouble they would make sure they could delete the text messages first. And when they find out they can't their just gonna find an app that will let them or their going to find other means of saying the inappropriate things such as say email.
This thread is starting to sound like Big Brother! Forget the phone, and get him two cans and a long string.
Wow, some of you people are true idiots.....
First, just answer the question regarding disabling text deletion on an iPhone. No one needs your critique regarding parental trust. Secondly, for some of us parents, it is not just about what our child is texting to others. We want to know what others are texting our children. Have you heard of cyberbullying? Third, I trust my child. But there is still a lot about life that she doesn't understand yet. That is where us parents come in. We SUPERVISE our children...monitoring their behaviors so that we can guide them and make sure they take the right paths and make accurate decisions. Some of you should just stick with discussing technology on tech forums and stay away from having kids.
First, just answer the question regarding disabling text deletion on an iPhone. No one needs your critique regarding parental trust. Secondly, for some of us parents, it is not just about what our child is texting to others. We want to know what others are texting our children. Have you heard of cyberbullying? Third, I trust my child. But there is still a lot about life that she doesn't understand yet. That is where us parents come in. We SUPERVISE our children...monitoring their behaviors so that we can guide them and make sure they take the right paths and make accurate decisions. Some of you should just stick with discussing technology on tech forums and stay away from having kids.
joe_fresh
Trusted Member
Way to bring up a thread that is over a year old. I am sorry but i am a firm believer that if you want a child to have a cell phone it should be a dumb phone without a texting plan. If that child is old enough to work and wants to pay the monthly bill then fine. I myself never had the opportunity to have a cell phone as a teen because they weren't around back then. I got my first cell phone in 1997 when i was in the military to call back home to the wife when i was at work. i think in the year i had it, i used it once. I didn't get another cell phone again until 2001 when i got a nextel for work. I didn't get my first smart phone until 2 years ago because i didn't feel the need.
And finally your first and probably last post in this forum shouldn't start off so rude, as more than likely most people will be reluctant to help you if you come off as a jerk.
We are definitely on the same page here, my friend
That's a tad but harsh. Just agree to disagree on some things and leave it at that.
Just Me, D
(Tapatalk - iPhone 4S)
What most people are saying on here about you monitoring your son is completely wrong. Not only is it your right as a parent but your responsibility and your desire to do so does not have anything to do with your son being mature enough to have a phone. If more parents did what you were trying to do many incidents of violence, bullying and illegal behaviour could be prevented. As far as them finding other ways, if you are diligent and keep up with history you can find others sites they may be using. Childrens and teens, despite the backlash this will bring ultimately do not have a "right to privacy". They should not be writing anything on the web that they don't want read by others, furthermore no one should. The Internet is anything but private. We have learned over the years as technology advances children can get any information they want to do anything and as a parent it is getting harder and harder to protect and make sure they are doing the right thing. But easier for them to get in trouble and do inappropriate things. It's a parents responsibility to monitor all aspects of a child's behaviour, and yes, that means their texts and emails.
My teens all have cells (iPhone) and I have always been upfront with them about me reading their texts and email. If you raised him with good values he won't have an issue and if he does, remember you are the parent.
As far as them "finding another way", this is true about almost every aspect in a teens life, so should parents just not care? For example one might say, I don't want my child to drink but they are going to be able to find a way to get alcohol so why not just buy it for them myself? Come on people, are these adults typing these responses or teenagers because if a parent really cares about their child they take the time to explore all these areas in their child's life. Raising a child "right" isn't enough, teens don't have a full understanding or ability to understand the full consequences of their actions at times and because their frontal lobe doesn't fully developed until late teens early 20, impulse control is limited and it's a parents responsibility to be their voice of understanding during these times.
Maybe people should do some research on teen brain development before giving parenting advice to a parent who is clearly invested in doing what's best for her child.
You may not be able to prevent him from deleting texts and if jailbreak is not something you want to do then just do the best you can. He may be able to delete parts of messages but spot lite search can help you with that and although you may not be able to do anything about the deleted messages doing random checks when he may least expect it has always worked for me. There are lots of parental controls on the iPhone that can help in many areas and as far as him "finding a way to remove", I have always been clear with my kids, if the phone has unauthorized changes then goodbye phone. Children may want their privacy but they want their phone more.
Good luck and keep up the good work, if more parents cared teens wouldn't be so out of control these days. Don't forget to keep an eye on photos and videos as well. After all, a picture tells a thousand words. And for all you parents who are angered by this post, go give your child the attention you are giving this post!
My teens all have cells (iPhone) and I have always been upfront with them about me reading their texts and email. If you raised him with good values he won't have an issue and if he does, remember you are the parent.
As far as them "finding another way", this is true about almost every aspect in a teens life, so should parents just not care? For example one might say, I don't want my child to drink but they are going to be able to find a way to get alcohol so why not just buy it for them myself? Come on people, are these adults typing these responses or teenagers because if a parent really cares about their child they take the time to explore all these areas in their child's life. Raising a child "right" isn't enough, teens don't have a full understanding or ability to understand the full consequences of their actions at times and because their frontal lobe doesn't fully developed until late teens early 20, impulse control is limited and it's a parents responsibility to be their voice of understanding during these times.
Maybe people should do some research on teen brain development before giving parenting advice to a parent who is clearly invested in doing what's best for her child.
You may not be able to prevent him from deleting texts and if jailbreak is not something you want to do then just do the best you can. He may be able to delete parts of messages but spot lite search can help you with that and although you may not be able to do anything about the deleted messages doing random checks when he may least expect it has always worked for me. There are lots of parental controls on the iPhone that can help in many areas and as far as him "finding a way to remove", I have always been clear with my kids, if the phone has unauthorized changes then goodbye phone. Children may want their privacy but they want their phone more.
Good luck and keep up the good work, if more parents cared teens wouldn't be so out of control these days. Don't forget to keep an eye on photos and videos as well. After all, a picture tells a thousand words. And for all you parents who are angered by this post, go give your child the attention you are giving this post!
Just when I thought that all parents had lost their minds! A breath of fresh air! Thank you for your (obviously) experienced response. I am dealing with this exact issue with my 15yr old daughter right now. You are absolutely correct, I have a cousin that is a child psychologist, and she constantly talk about how teens are not capable of foreseeing consequences and making appropriate decisions. They are not adults. They may dress like them and they may try to act like them, but they are not. We as adults need to stop acting like they are.
First, let me just say that I have constantly reminded her that I can monitor her phone and she isn't happy about it, but that is the way that it is.
For the judgers out there-
If you don't have a teen or preteen, you have no idea what you are talking about. I thought I did when I was in your shoes, but I was wrong and so are you. For the very conservative in the group:Taking the phone away from them isn't always the best option. Teens need the perception of freedom. They also need to fit in. That phone is the best electronic leash ever invented. I need to be able to get in touch with her. I can also see where she is at any point in the day. Finally, monitoring my daughter's phone has allowed me to get insight into what she has been dealing with. This info has enabled me to steer conversations in a way that assisted her in making good decisions without her realizing what I know.
A word of caution for those considering monitoring your kid's text. You cannot act on every bad decision you see your child making. They have to be allowed to make poor decisions and learn from them. I am not a hover parent. I believe in raising independent kids, and I have always pushed my kids towards independence and responsibility. The reality of the situation is that they need guidance and restrictions. My job is to give them as much independence as they can handle and to know where that line is.
Being a parent is hard, and it is much harder if you don't know technology. Most kids are light years ahead of their parents in this arena. You have two choices. You can ignore technology and hope for the best, or you can get involved. You are not their friend, you are their parent. You are not cool, and never will be, so don't try. Your kids will either despise you now for restricting their "rights" or despise you later when they are old enough to realize you should have.
First, let me just say that I have constantly reminded her that I can monitor her phone and she isn't happy about it, but that is the way that it is.
For the judgers out there-
If you don't have a teen or preteen, you have no idea what you are talking about. I thought I did when I was in your shoes, but I was wrong and so are you. For the very conservative in the group:Taking the phone away from them isn't always the best option. Teens need the perception of freedom. They also need to fit in. That phone is the best electronic leash ever invented. I need to be able to get in touch with her. I can also see where she is at any point in the day. Finally, monitoring my daughter's phone has allowed me to get insight into what she has been dealing with. This info has enabled me to steer conversations in a way that assisted her in making good decisions without her realizing what I know.
A word of caution for those considering monitoring your kid's text. You cannot act on every bad decision you see your child making. They have to be allowed to make poor decisions and learn from them. I am not a hover parent. I believe in raising independent kids, and I have always pushed my kids towards independence and responsibility. The reality of the situation is that they need guidance and restrictions. My job is to give them as much independence as they can handle and to know where that line is.
Being a parent is hard, and it is much harder if you don't know technology. Most kids are light years ahead of their parents in this arena. You have two choices. You can ignore technology and hope for the best, or you can get involved. You are not their friend, you are their parent. You are not cool, and never will be, so don't try. Your kids will either despise you now for restricting their "rights" or despise you later when they are old enough to realize you should have.
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