Monitoring teens no way to check addictions

A 14-year-old boy in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, recently called the police to help solve the "problems" he was having with his father.

According to a video report on social media, the father installed a camera in the son's room to "monitor" him. Asked why, the father said he was keeping a tab on the boy, who was addicted to computer games.

The video shows the police arriving and trying to mediate between the father and son. "What privacy are you talking about," the father asks. "What is our relation and why cannot I monitor you?"

Although that sounds just like what a father might say to a son, it is not that simple.

Guardians have a responsibility to protect their wards, but they should respect the privacy and dignity of the children.

Many parents install cameras to monitor the safety of a baby or a very young child, but a 14-year-old boy is old enough to take care of himself and has the right to his privacy. A camera keeping an eye on him in his room is certainly not proper. Would the boy's father jump with joy at the prospect of having a camera monitor him in his room? Or would he balk at the idea? The child's reaction is therefore understandable.

Spending a lot of time playing computer games is definitely a problem with youngsters today, but monitoring them around the clock is not the solution. It will break the trust the child reposes in the people closest to him. A better way is to spend more time with them and play more outdoor games. In other words, parents need to trust their children and help them find things that are more appealing than computer games.