Half Of U.S. Parents Track Their Adult Children’s Location

June 15, 2026
Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

Parents can track a child’s location at any moment through their kid’s smartphone, a feature meant to provide reassurance for anxious moms and dads.

But at what age should mom and dad stop the practice?

A new poll finds half of U.S. parents (52%) saying they’ve continued to track the location of their 18-to-25-year-old offspring, at least occasionally.

That could come with downsides, said poll co-director Sarah Clark, of University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, in Ann Arbor.

“At its worst, constant location tracking can prompt parents to take over management of their young adult child’s daily life, with parents asking why their child isn’t at work, at a doctor’s appointment or in class,” Clark said. “With that type of hovering, the young adult has less ownership of their own schedule and obligations and less responsibility to figure out how to be a successful adult.”

Where does parenting cross the line and become too intrusive?

With half of American parents still tracking their adult kids, “our findings suggest that families are split on where that boundary should be,” Clark said.

Location tracking is a constant presence for most families, the poll found. More than two-thirds of parents said the feature is always on.

The most common reason given for tracking an adult child is peace of mind (68%), followed by "in case of emergency" (64%), survey results showed. About 1 in 5 (21%) said they use the feature to know when it’s a good time to call.

Nearly all parents (95%) who track their adult children said it helps them worry less, but about a quarter (23%) admitted that it sometimes makes them more anxious than reassured.

"Constant access to information can also fuel anxiety," Clark said. "When parents can check their child’s location at any time, it may become harder to resist checking, especially when they’re already worried.”

Almost all parents (96%) said that their child is aware they’re being tracked, the poll found. Only 54% said they had given their adult child the option to not have their location tracked.

Among parents who do not track their adult children, two-thirds (65%) said it would feel like an invasion of their child's privacy. About half (51%) also said such tracking might interfere with their child developing a sense of independence and personal responsibility.

One unexpected finding is that the tracking often went both ways. About half of parents polled said their adult child tracked their location, too. In 90% of those cases, the parent was also tracking the child.

Parents should discuss location tracking with their adult children, and establish a shared understanding about when it would be appropriate, Clark advised.

However, “for some families, tracking may be viewed as the default rather than a decision that’s discussed together,” she said.

“When there aren’t conversations about whether or how tracking happens, it may feel intrusive,” Clark said. “As digital tools continue to evolve, families may benefit from thoughtful discussions about how to balance safety, privacy and independence.”

Parents also should keep in mind that being overbearing in their tracking could backfire, and their adult children may simply stop using the feature for their own personal safety.

“Parents who use location tracking think they are keeping their child safe. But they might be interfering with that young adult learning to keep themselves safe,” Clark said.

Many young adults already share their location with friends when traveling, meeting new people or getting home late at night, she said. This allows young adults the opportunity to take their personal safety into their own hands, while independently deciding with whom they’ll share their whereabouts.

The survey was conducted in February and involved 1,542 parents with at least one child 18 to 25. The margin of error is plus or minus 1 to 3 percentage points.

More information

Mass General Brigham has more on helicopter parenting.

SOURCE: University of Michigan, news release, June 15, 2026

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