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Would You Put a Tracking Device On Your Child?

Posted by Soulskill on from the does-that-mean-i-don't-have-to-watch-them-anymore dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "In 2007 businessman Russell Thornton lost his 3-year-old son at an amusement park. After a frantic 45-minute search, Thornton found the boy hiding in a play structure, but he was traumatized by the incident. It spurred him to build a device that would help other parents avoid that fate. Even though most statistics show that rates of violent crime against children have declined significantly over the last few decades, and that abductions are extremely rare, KJ Dell'Antonia writes that with the array of new gadgetry like Amber Alert and the Securus eZoom our children need never experience the fears that come with momentary separations, or the satisfaction of weathering them. 'You could argue that those of us who survived our childhoods of being occasionally lost, then found, are in the position of those who think car seats are overkill because they suffered no injury while bouncing around in the back of their uncle's pickup,' writes Dell'Antonia. 'Wouldn't a more powerful sense of security come from knowing your children were capable, and trusting in their ability to reach out for help at the moment when they realize they're not?'"

11 of 610 comments (clear)

  1. A device that helps find lost kids by Hentes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You mean like, I don't know, a phone?

    1. Re:A device that helps find lost kids by mellon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It would be essentially a phone, only with no ability to place calls—just data+GPS.

      I don't really see why this is remotely controversial. The point at which the kid starts to think about disabling it is the same point at which the kid is probably capable of making rational decisions. A three-year-old is not yet capable of doing that, and having a device like this would be a major anxiety-reducer for parents. It's not likely to make the kid hugely safer, but who cares?

    2. Re:A device that helps find lost kids by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      One a 3-year old can use?

      My friend's 2 year old can pick up his BlackBerry Playbook, turn it on, find the application she wants, launch it, and play with it. No issues whatsoever.

      She doesn't yet understand the concept of a phone call I don't think, but I should think at this rate she'll have a pretty good grasp of that before long.

      I mostly just stand there shaking my head that she can navigate it so easy, since when we were kids we had absolutely nothing of the sort. Kids are just exposed to this a lot earlier now. Hell, I was a whole lot older than she when we got Pong for crying out loud.

      I'm pretty sure the average 2-4 year old can do stuff that 10 years ago I couldn't have even explained the concept to my mother, let alone how to use it.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. always with the children by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    everything controversial can be made acceptable by saying it will protect the children. Well you know what? fuck the children, we dont need any more of them, and who cares if we lose a couple a year? thins out the population.

  3. Re:Just buy them an iPhone with a strap by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's really simple. I expect my kid will actually want a phone. Leaving location services on is a condition of getting to keep the phone. If I ever check on him and find it is disabled, or is reporting him to be somewhere he is not, then he loses the phone.

  4. No I would not. by santax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The risk isn't worth the lost of privacy. If we teach our kids it's ok to be tracked anytime and always, it won't be long until all the kids wear government mandated trackingdevices. Which they get to keep to wear when they grown into adults. So no. It's not worth it, the risk is so small, don't do it. Keep an eye on your kids, make sure your kids know when to kick, bite and scream, but don't go tracking them with hardware. It's stupid.

  5. Re:I have one on him by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right, and because they know about it - they can give their phone to a schoolmate who plans on going to school, while they head off to the local crack den.

    You aren't describing a problem that technology can fix.

    --

    Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

  6. Re:South Park did it first! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have tracking devices on my children.

    The device is made by Apple.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  7. Re:I have one on him by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right, and because they know about it - they can give their phone to a schoolmate who plans on going to school, while they head off to the local crack den.

    You aren't describing a problem that technology can fix.

    Exactly. But this is a problem that proper parenting can fix. My daughter is 13. I can track her phone. I also know her bank password and can see the transactions on her debit card. Nearly every weekend she goes to her BFF's house to "study", but the two of them really go hang out at the mall (according to both the phone and the bank transactions).

    Here is what I have done about the situation: nothing. Lying and deceiving your parents is a normal part of growing up, and the point of spying on your kids is not to prevent them from being normal, but to protect them from real dangers. If you use your spying to keep your kid from occasionally skipping a class, then you will not be able to protect them from the crack dealers.

    Trust you kids. Let them do stupid stuff, make mistakes, and grow up. Only intervene when they make the big mistakes.

  8. Re:Just buy them an iPhone with a strap by darkwing_bmf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think you underestimate the number of parents who see that as a win-win situation.

  9. Re:I have one on him by Gaygirlie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nearly every weekend she goes to her BFF's house to "study", but the two of them really go hang out at the mall (according to both the phone and the bank transactions). Here is what I have done about the situation: nothing. Lying and deceiving your parents is a normal part of growing up, and the point of spying on your kids is not to prevent them from being normal, but to protect them from real dangers.

    Hm. Personally I would rather catch the child from lying and then have a chat about lying and why she feels she needs to lie to me in the first place. I mean, I wouldn't be angry about the occasional skipping of class or hanging out with friends, that's all normal stuff, but never confronting her lying is just gonna raise some serious issues later in her life. If you can solve the issue in a way that the child doesn't any longer feel the need to lie to you you're BOTH better off than before, plus you've just taught the kid a valuable lesson.