‘Snooping’ comes with job sometimes

I say bravo to Carmen Dixon! What she did by listening to her daughter’s phone conversation should be considered a loving example of a mother wanting the best for her child, instead of illegal (“Parent snoops lose in court,” Dec. 10).

In a time when we pick up the paper only to see screaming headlines of parental abuse, neglect and even murder of their children, this article is refreshing and should be taken to heart. How many times have we heard about a case where a teenager committed a crime, only to see the parents reprimanded for not keeping track and paying attention to said teenager? Now we have a mother who is doing that very thing, and still she is reprimanded, instead of commended.

Of course every person has rights, privacy rights included. But let’s take a step back in time. Perhaps if Oliver Christensen’s parents had thought about it, they too would have picked up the other line at their home and been able to prevent the awful act of true illegality that occurred when Oliver knocked down a defenseless elderly woman and stole her purse. In my home, it’s my rules. While my children live under my roof, if they don’t give me a reason to believe I have to “snoop,” then I won’t. But one tiny little clue that my kids are in trouble or need intervention so they don’t come to harm, I’ll be on the other line faster then you can say “sue me”!

Staci Ahl

Everett