Need help now?

16 year old and his mobile phone

Discussion forum for parents in Australia

Reply
Casual scribe
Argie1234
Solved!

16 year old and his mobile phone

Hi All,

I'm hoping that I might get some sort of clarity as I'm very confused. My son is 16 years old and I just found out through my son that his father wants to take his mobile away from him as he believes that social media is having an impact on his health. My son also advised me that his father wants to go through his phone.  I have not spoken to his father regarding this issue but what I want to know first is my son considered an adult and by law can my son stop his father from doing this? I recently took my son to the Drs which the Dr asked my son whether or not it was ok for me to be in the room with him...I am so confused even google is not giving me a straight answer. Any advice right now will be extremely helpful. 


Accepted Solutions
Star contributor
Janine-RO
Solution

Re: 16 year old and his mobile phone

Message contains a hyperlink Message contains an image

Hi @Argie1234 , 

 

We definitely hear a lot from parents who are concerned about their teens' social media use, and it's something that can be even tricker to navigate when you're co-parenting with an ex. 

 

In terms of the law, a lot of these issues are a bit of a grey area, and they also vary from state to state in Australia in some cases. In terms of your son's legal status- in Australia, you become an adult legally at 18, however it's recognised that young people aged 16-18 in particular will have more rights than younger kids.  

 

I'm wondering if you and your ex have a parenting agreement, or if you've ever had mediation together at all? A lot of separated parents find that a parenting agreement can be useful in helping to manage differences in opinions like the one you're describing here. It's also pretty common for young people to have one set of rules for mum's house, and one set of rules for dad's house- that can be quite normal and appropriate, but it can also be incredibly tricky to navigate for everyone involved. 

 

We hear from a lot of parents who are confused/ uncertain/ worried about social media, phones and their young people - we are actually taking part in a free webinar with a range of experts on this issue tomorrow - this could be a really good opportunity for you to get some input from various experts on these questions. If you're interested, you can find more about that here. It's free to register, and will also be recorded:

 

Keeping up with teen tech

 

Header Image

 

With your son and the doctor, it looks like you're in WA, is that right? 

 

This article gives a good outline of the different considerations with confidentiality and young people - basically, a lot of this is also in your son's control. Sometimes young people may want to talk about a sensitive subject that they may not want their parents to know about, but in some cases they will need and want their parents' support. 

 

How does your son feel about these issues? This age can be so tricky! 

 

 

 

 

View solution in original post


All Replies
Star contributor
Janine-RO
Solution

Re: 16 year old and his mobile phone

Message contains a hyperlink Message contains an image

Hi @Argie1234 , 

 

We definitely hear a lot from parents who are concerned about their teens' social media use, and it's something that can be even tricker to navigate when you're co-parenting with an ex. 

 

In terms of the law, a lot of these issues are a bit of a grey area, and they also vary from state to state in Australia in some cases. In terms of your son's legal status- in Australia, you become an adult legally at 18, however it's recognised that young people aged 16-18 in particular will have more rights than younger kids.  

 

I'm wondering if you and your ex have a parenting agreement, or if you've ever had mediation together at all? A lot of separated parents find that a parenting agreement can be useful in helping to manage differences in opinions like the one you're describing here. It's also pretty common for young people to have one set of rules for mum's house, and one set of rules for dad's house- that can be quite normal and appropriate, but it can also be incredibly tricky to navigate for everyone involved. 

 

We hear from a lot of parents who are confused/ uncertain/ worried about social media, phones and their young people - we are actually taking part in a free webinar with a range of experts on this issue tomorrow - this could be a really good opportunity for you to get some input from various experts on these questions. If you're interested, you can find more about that here. It's free to register, and will also be recorded:

 

Keeping up with teen tech

 

Header Image

 

With your son and the doctor, it looks like you're in WA, is that right? 

 

This article gives a good outline of the different considerations with confidentiality and young people - basically, a lot of this is also in your son's control. Sometimes young people may want to talk about a sensitive subject that they may not want their parents to know about, but in some cases they will need and want their parents' support. 

 

How does your son feel about these issues? This age can be so tricky! 

 

 

 

 

Casual scribe
Argie1234

Re: 16 year old and his mobile phone

Hi, Janine thank you so much for your reply… I’m in Sydney.. and we don’t have a parenting agreement in place… I will certainly like to take part in the webinar as I would like to get input from various experts… I might even get my ex to join Thank you again
 
Super frequent scribe
MaryRO

Re: 16 year old and his mobile phone

Hi @Argie1234,

 

Hopefully you find some tips and suggestions that would help you deal with this situation. Indeed, this world of social media and phones is a very different world to what most parents grew up in. All the best and we wish that you get what you need from the webinar. 

Casual scribe
Argie1234

Re: 16 year old and his mobile phone

Thank you, Mary, I have registered so I'm looking forward to it...