[m0zg]

Spyware or locking down doesn't really work in this day and age if the kid is using a Windows PC. In most (if not all) Windows PCs you have local access to you can create an administrative account not subject to parental controls or anything else. No admin access is required to create it. This is trivially discoverable through Google.

And I think the class I mentioned is genuinely good, actually. It's how I'd teach the subject - builds up from simple to complex, using an industry-leading game engine (Unity), interesting assignments, etc. Of course kids nowadays want to build an AAA 3D game right off the bat, but there's value in understanding that this doesn't work, and you have to start simple.

[mlyle]

If your kid bypasses controls, though, that's something else you can address. Surely you have some levers you can pull.

My eldest is currently locked down on devices because he googled a couple of answers to the online advanced math class he was taking. (It was stupid; he had honestly completed much harder problems but for some reason decided to cheat on a couple of easy ones).

He's not going to bypass controls because A) he knows he will get access back (carrot), and B) he knows that if he further abuses trust that things can get much worse (stick)... and of course C) he knows that we will know if controls are bypassed.

[m0zg]

> much worse

"Much worse" like what? I can't really take his access away, and I can't watch him 24x7. He's 16. I'd expect the brain to turn on by this point.

[mlyle]

Surely you have some degree of stuff you do for him that is in excess of what is legally required of being his guardian.

I'm not parent of a teen, yet, and I know things are difficult to implement (it caused enough angst to restrict and lock down my 11 year old -- it certainly wasn't the most painless option in the near term).

But you don't want to keep heading towards an inevitable cliff... fight the good fight. I wish you the best, and I'm sorry if this is tonedeaf and naive.