Your son’s secret diary

Many years ago it was considered quite common for children, especially older ones, to keep diaries. Although the tradition of keeping regular journals has dwindled among children in recent years, the idea of ​​similar ways of recording thoughts, feelings, details of friends, and other pearls of wisdom has been on the rise lately. These may be called diaries, journals, secret books, or other tomes of secret wisdom, and these come in a variety of different types.

The emphasis of most of these journals or diaries is that they are for secret thoughts and notes, and the whole industry is very much geared towards giving children this secret way to record their thoughts, or to store their notes and recordings in ways that prevent adults to be able to see what they are writing.

This could be a bone of contention, because while it’s nice to give a child the chance to write honestly about their thoughts and feelings, shouldn’t parents have the chance to see what they are to spot any issues or concerns?

This is a moral field riddled with obstacles and decisions, a veritable minefield of moral dilemmas. Should a child’s secret notes be respected as a secret, or do parents have a duty, at least up to a certain age, to use any method by which they can identify a child’s worries and fears, problems and anxieties? There are, perhaps, cases where this very method could reveal some serious problems. I certainly have a friend who used to be a teacher, and once a week his class wrote in his weekly journals. These would be read by the teacher, who would write a response, and it would become a private dialogue between the two. He said how remarkable it was that there were several occasions when children revealed some inner concerns or fears which, upon further exploration, showed that there was very serious abuse in the home. Surely privacy should be ignored if even a child could be saved from harm?

That being said, finding or physically accessing notes can be difficult. Many of these journals have locks that, while quite crude and simple, can be broken if picked, leaving considerable evidence of tampering. Of course, the key may have been left lying around somewhere else, but it’s not always easy to find.

Other journals may include digital ones, where the child uses a computer or mobile phone keyboard to enter notes, and these are password protected or, in some cases, voice activated. This means that the notes can only be read if you know your child’s password, or if you manage to get a voice recording of your child saying the opening phrase of the journal and playing it back.

Over time, it becomes more like a spy game than anything else, and some might argue that it would actually be better for families to simply have an open discussion, an atmosphere of trust that allows and encourages children to speak honestly. with parents about any issues that arise. it may be worrying you.