Mother Asks If She's Wrong For Installing GPS Tracker On 15-Year-Old Daughter’s Car

Is this an invasion of privacy?

Mother and daughter by car STEKLO / Shutterstock
Advertisement

All parents are concerned for their children’s safety and well-being, however, one woman might have gone a bit too far by adding a GPS tracker to her daughter’s car.

Afterward, the woman thought that she might have been wrong for doing it so she went to Reddit’s “r/AmItheA--hole” (AITA) thread to ask other people what they thought.

The AITA thread is a place where internet users can share their opinions and vote on whether the person in question is wrong.

Advertisement

The woman’s 15-year-old daughter drives her car without an accompanied adult.

As the woman’s daughter recently got her learner's permit, the mother bought her a car that she could use when she gets her license. 

“The problem is that she has been driving this car by herself without our permission or even informing us,” the woman explained.

RELATED: Man Sparks Debate After Telling Wife Not To Put Baby In Bed With Him When She Leaves For Work

The daughter often takes the car out when her parents are not at home as she has a spare key. 

The woman noticed the difference in the miles on the car and warned her daughter to not drive the car by herself. 

Advertisement

The mother feared that her daughter could get in trouble as it is illegal in her state for her to drive without an adult. 

As a countermeasure, the woman drew chalk lines on the tires of the car, but the chalk lines only let the woman know that her daughter has used the car.

“So she still kept using the car and would shrug us off [afterward],” the mother explained.

In the fear of her daughter breaking the law, the mother added a GPS tracker to her car.

The woman added, “We then secretly pretended to leave and waited until we noticed that the car's location changed. I immediately called my daughter and yelled at her telling her that she needed to come home now.”

Advertisement

When the daughter got home, she got into a huge fight with her mother.

While the mother yelled at her daughter for taking the car out, her daughter felt as though her privacy had been invaded.

RELATED: Mom Gets Backlash For Sending Baby To 'Sleep School' To Train Him To Sleep Through The Night

Since it was her car, the daughter felt that her mother didn’t have the right to install a GPS tracker in it.

After the argument, the woman reiterated her situation to someone else who claimed that she had taken the wrong approach.

She had even thought of taking the key away from her but her daughter wouldn’t give it back and the mother doesn’t know where it is. 

Advertisement

Redditors also claimed that while the woman meant well, she had taken the wrong approach.

“As a parent, this is the wrong approach. It’s just the same as installing a tracking App on their phone. Build up your communication skills between parents and child,” one user wrote.

Many internet users also offered solutions or alternatives for the mother’s situation.

One user wrote, “If you can’t get the keys from her, pull a fuse from under the hood. Taking the fuse for the fuel pump should disable the vehicle harmlessly until you replace the 50-cent fuse you pulled out, and it’s extremely easy to do.”

Advertisement

Some people pointed out that both the mother and the daughter are in the wrong. 

One person commented, “You seem to have no authority [over] your kid, and even when she is wrong, she still [bullies] you and she doesn't get consequences from it. She shouldn't be driving at all, period. Not with that entitled attitude.”

RELATED: Dad Calls CPS On Ex-Wife After His Kids Came Home With Old Clothes, Sparking Debate

Sanika Nalgirkar is a News & Entertainment Writer based in India. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing. See more of her writing on her website.