Would you put this on your child??

[sparks19]

Just because a child is doing things they are not suppose too does not always mean that the parent has neglected to teach them right from wrong, or how to be safe. Sometimes the child just chooses to ignore the parents teachings and do what they want. Not all kids are innocent little people that just happen to do something wrong because they were never taught not too.

This is true.

Kids don't do wrong because they don't know any better. sometimes that's the case but I would venture to guess that MOST of the time it's because they are being rebellious or think they can get away with it.

you can do everything right and still end up with a rebellious teenager.

not that I'm advocating putting these devices on just to keep tabs unless that is nessecary

 

[sparks19]

Well, to be fair, I don't have a kid, so I can't know. I only have dogs, and, as much as I love them, I won't fork out the money for the GPS collar on them, and there's no independence issue there. Its just that the situations in which it would genuinely be useful would be so few and far between (yes, they could run off at the farm . . . but knowing precisely where they are and actually being able to catch them in the woods there are two entirely different things . . . I'd be better off working on my recall and getting some really stinky cheese).

But people should try and control their fear, especially if its groundless, and temper it with reason. Otherwise, they'll worry themselves into an early grave and teach their children to be fearful as well. You do a good job, as far as I can tell, of controlling your fear, though I know you and your husband love Hannah with the ferocity of a pair of wolves.

But yes, its not fair to condemn people for simply being afraid . . . on the other hand, I think it is fair to point out that their fear is irrational and possibly destructive.

. .

well as I always say....

there is NOTHING rational about raising kids lol. You do things you never thought you would (whether that's a good or bad thing depends of course), you SAY things you never thought you'd hear yourself say and at lot of times you gotta fly by the seat of your pants when something crops up lol.

 

[NicoleLJ]

well as I always say....

there is NOTHING rational about raising kids lol. You do things you never thought you would (whether that's a good or bad thing depends of course), you SAY things you never thought you'd hear yourself say and at lot of times you gotta fly by the seat of your pants when something crops up lol.

This is so true that I had to quote you so that it was repeated.:hail:

 

[*blackrose]

Having these for everyone in the family would have made life a HECK of a lot easier when we went to Disney World and my mom had to keep tabs on two toddlers, an infant, and two teenagers all at the same time - especially when one of the toddlers liked to wander. (Does it say anything that my parents were considering purchasing a GSD that was trained in SAR in case my sister - said toddler - ever wandered off from the house? LOL She took off one day and the only reason we were able to find her was because our dogs followed her and we saw the dogs. She was a field over in a neighbor's barn petting their pigs.)

I could see how it could easily be abused and make situations worse...I could also see how it could be of great benefit. I definitally don't think every person in the world needs one and in most situations I think it would be overkill.

And, did anyone else think of "The Pacifier" during this discussion? LOL

 

[Paige]

This is true.

Kids don't do wrong because they don't know any better. sometimes that's the case but I would venture to guess that MOST of the time it's because they are being rebellious or think they can get away with it.

you can do everything right and still end up with a rebellious teenager.

not that I'm advocating putting these devices on just to keep tabs unless that is nessecary

Take me for example. I never even so much as went to a party before 17. Then I got crap face drunk the first time I drank and lost my virginity before even having my first kiss. A year later I was pregnant with the dude's kid.

:rofl1:

My mom's fault for raising me wrong? Maybe. But really I was just a horny teenager. Short of putting a chastity belt on me I was going to do what I was going to do. Her opinion and parenting be damned.

 

[Romy]

You know, it would be kind of awesome to get these for my dogs so we could take them hunting way out in the hills and not worry about them disappearing into another county without a trace. I think they make them for dogs already though.

Agree that raising kids has a lot of irrational parts. lol. I'm pretty emotional about my daughter. I've seen a lot of really bad stuff happen to kids, having worked with thousands. It probably doesn't help my neurosis that Willow's first ever SAR find was bone fragments from a young child who wandered off and died of exposure.

Would I buy this for my daughter? No, it's too expensive and I have other ways of managing her (leashes for one. Is that any less intrusive/controlling for a toddler?). Though I wouldn't fault someone with a very young child for using one. I don't think a casual kidnapper would bother cutting of a kid's arm to get rid of it. I think if they recognized it, they'd dump the kid as soon as they could or just avoid taking the kid in the first place if they knew it had a GPS attached.

 

[corgipower]

No, it's too expensive and I have other ways of managing her (leashes for one. Is that any less intrusive/controlling for a toddler?).

Leashes don't at all bother me for the toddler that's just too fast. When I worked at a park doing pony rides, I often wished we could give them out to everyone in line. It was scary and dangerous when a child would duck under the fence and run up to the ponies before anyone could even attempt to stop them.

But with a leash, you're there. You're with the child, you're interacting with the child, and you're just preventing the child from running up to the ponies, or running into the street, or disappearing into the next aisle at the grocery store while giving the child a little more freedom than hand holding or strapping him to a stroller.

But GPS for a toddler? Are you going to let the child then wander off alone because you have a way to track them? For an older child, I very much would be against it. For someone with autism dementia? Maybe.

 

[sparks19]

But GPS for a toddler? Are you going to let the child then wander off alone because you have a way to track them? For an older child, I very much would be against it. For someone with autism dementia? Maybe.

No of course I wouldn't just decide that "hey she could just wander off and I'll find her later" but kids DO wander off. I can see how it would come in handy for such occurances. "OMG Timmy where are you? *looks at tracker* Oh good he's just hiding in this clothes rack. *throttles child for scaring me to death" just kidding... maybe lol (not to steal coops own personal experience lol)

I don't know ANY parent that would jsut be like "oh I can find them so I can let them out of my sight" when it comes to a toddler. I think it would be used as a back up JUST in case they got away from you.

 

[oakash]

My sister in New Zealand actually did just rescue a toddler from drowning. His ten year old sibling was watching him, and lost track of him.

So that got my mom started on how my older sister had wandered off twice, and my little brother once, all around the age of two. If I was ever filthy rich, I might consider it for busy places with a lot of people, especially for ages two to three.

 

[JennSLK]

If my parents put that thing on me and didn't trust me INSTEAD of teaching me right/wrong and about getting lost and staying safe..
I would of honestly probably turned into a pretty crazy teenager/child. That is just soo..I dunno..
I'm your kid. not some kind of animal. TALK TO ME instead of putting a tracker on me and making me feel like some kind of CRIMINAL

My parents put that chip on my phone so they could find me if I was ever kidnapped or stuck somewhere and needed them. We discussed it, and we trusted eachother, and they have the same device in their phones..it was mutual trust and RESPECT

one thing that holds true about kids/teenagers always.
Treat your kid like a criminal, and they are going to act like it.

I hate to say Fran, but the fact that you dont have kids is really showing through in this comment.

You can teach your child all you want. Some kids just dont give a crap. Its a fact of life. If they break your trust, then they need consequences.

I dont agree with doing something just because they might go off on their own.

 

[Romy]

No of course I wouldn't just decide that "hey she could just wander off and I'll find her later" but kids DO wander off. I can see how it would come in handy for such occurances. "OMG Timmy where are you? *looks at tracker* Oh good he's just hiding in this clothes rack. *throttles child for scaring me to death" just kidding... maybe lol (not to steal coops own personal experience lol)

I don't know ANY parent that would jsut be like "oh I can find them so I can let them out of my sight" when it comes to a toddler. I think it would be used as a back up JUST in case they got away from you.

This is pretty much how I envisioned it, not that you don't supervise them. In my case I've got mobility issues my dog helps me with, and cannot physically catch her if she bolts. And I can't physically lift her any more. It's gotten to where I don't take her crowded places without her father or a grandparent as backup, and a leash on her, because I can't follow her through a crowd if she bolts. She's so friendly she'll just walk up to a random bearded stranger and grab their hand, then walk off with them. So it wouldn't even be hard for someone to kidnap her in a crowd and make it look like she was theirs. When she's a bit older and has better stranger sense I'm hoping that will get better and she'll stay close by (she's 3 now).

I still don't think it's something I'd personally use, even with all those issues but I do see it as being as useful tool for someone with a child like that.

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

I think I agree with the majority of you.

It would be a great tool for mentally challenged people and seniors with alzheimer's/dementia. I also think I would potentially use it on a little kid (up until about elementary school age) who was fast, really trusting of strangers or a wanderer. My mom had a few scares with my brother who always tried to wander off. She was herding around two little kids, trying to get groceries, pushing a cart, etc... It only takes a kid a second or two to get out of sight, ESPECIALLY in a crowded place. So for a little kid, I think it would give you a little more peace of mind knowing you could locate them in the off chance they ran off.

That being said... Forcing a teenager to wear it? I would never ever do that unless they were mentally handicapped or were getting into serious trouble and as a LAST resort. If my parents tried to put that on me it would have created a hell of a lot of resentment and probably would have really damaged our relationship. Trust is really important and what that device translates into for a pre-teen/teen is that their parent doesn't trust them. I know there are exceptions to every rule and some really unruly teenagers out there but I think that is taking it way too far for the average kid. Part of being a teenager is learning how to navigate life WITHOUT your parents watching your every step.

At the same time, if a family agrees to install GPS like Fran's, I think that is a great idea. I mean you could even do that and just agree to not use it as a tattle-tale device (whoever came up with that term, I love it ) and to only check it if there is a legitimate cause for concern, like if they never came home, haven't called, etc. If everyone is cool with using the GPS as a back-up plan for an emergency then I would say go for it!

Oh and... I agree with whoever suggested they redesign it and make it smaller. If someone really did take my child I wouldn't want them to be trying to remove it by force and doing something terrible to them. I would want only myself and my husband to have knowledge of the GPS's existence.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

It would take a serious delinquent for me to do that, though.

Didn't read any other replies, so I don't know if this has been touched on or not, but, they don't have to be a "delinquent" for you to want to keep them safe. If someone kidnapped them, or they got lost, that doesn't make them a delinquent. What good would it do the parents of a delinquent anyway? They can do drugs, have sex, and party all within their little "zone" if they wanna.

ETA: I vote yes. If I had the money for such a thing, I'd get them a watch or necklace or something that had a GPS tracking device, why not? I wouldn't put it on a teenager of course, but a little kid? Sure.

 

[Zoom]

I'd say for those considering something like this, I would suggest getting a smaller tracking chip implanted in a child's tooth. It's unobtrusive, not something they're likely to ever be able to get off on their own, or harm themselves in the attempt.

 

[yoko]

I think if it's someone who is highly impaired has a tendency to wander off or a small child who may wander off then maybe. But after working at sprint and having to deal with parents who freaked out because the family tracker said their child left an area I would say no to anyone who didn't have an amazingly strong argument for it. I had to deal with parents daily who would work themselves into a frenzy because the kids went into a building so the signal on the family tracker was weak or the battery was low or they forgot they told the kid they could go to a friends house and it alerted them they weren't in a 'safe' zone.

Teach your kids to not speak to strangers, to stay in a group and always have a charged cell phone on their person. Teach them what to do if they are grabbed *scream struggle do anything to draw attention* because that is going to help them a lot more than the GIANT BRIGHTLY COLORED, OVERSIZED, FUNNY NAMED watch on their hand.

Use this if you think your kid might wander off. But don't think that someone who kidnaps your kid isn't going to notice the huge watch that won't come undone from the kids hand.

 

[Psyfalcon]

GPS really does not like inside. Sometimes they don't like the back seat of cars. A trunk is going to be a problem. So you're out of luck unless they leave the store. I guess its good to know that, but the utility seems a bit underwhelming.

 

[Dizzy]

I think it depends on the age of the child. But I also feel we have evolved through millions of years of parenting and people losing their children (permanently) isn't a hugely common occurrence lol

I don't think it is a tool that should necessarily be used for discipline. Tagging a wayward teen might be useful, but will not fix your concerns. And I'm willing to bet my left arm theyd find a way to out smart the parent anyway. I imagine it also begins to affect human rights if it is done against someone's will.

No matter how handy I think it'd be for work realistically, prob not gonna work.

 

[yoko]

Something else that bugs me about this is its reinforced to make it almost impossible to get of. If the kid gets their hand caught what will give first the hand our the watch?

 

[sparks19]

Something else that bugs me about this is its reinforced to make it almost impossible to get of. If the kid gets their hand caught what will give first the hand our the watch?

there has to be some way to take it off isn't there?

but yes I agree. that could really be a safety hazard