We have officially entered a new phase of living with teens now that we have a driver in the house. I have to admit that as scary as it is to think about my first baby out there driving, it has definitely made life less complicated/stressful. For that, I am grateful.
To help ease my anxiety about this new independence, I did some research on how to make it work for our family. First up, Life360. This app lets parents monitor where their teens are using their smart phones. For a monthly fee, you get extra perks like knowing how fast your teen drove to said location, if any hard stops were made on the trip, as well as 24hr/7day roadside assistance and one button 911 assistance. I am totally addicted to this app. I love getting the alerts about when my teens leave school, when they are arriving home, and everything in between.
Next up, Greenlight. A debit card that lets me control where the teens spend money. I transfer money to their cards, so they can only spend what they have earned. And there is an allowance feature. Gone are the days when they ask me for cash before school and I don’t have it. If they need money for something non allowance related, I can immediately transfer money to their cards.
How in the world did our parents survive without all of this technology? I guess the normal was not knowing. Whew. Super grateful for technology as we learn to navigate teen independence.