Child tracker device

M

Mel

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We've moved to a new area relatively recently, and my son who is 9 has made some new friends, and enjoys going to play on 'the green' with them, on his bike etc.
I get nervous when he doesn't come back to the house at regular intervals to check in, but don't want to make him nervous about being out, or curtail him too much either. Does anyone know of or use a tracker device to help locate their kids or is there another system that might work better? I was thinking an alarm on a digital watch maybe, at least this would remind him to pop into the house every 20 or 30 minutes... when they are out playing I know they just loose track of time, but my heart is in my mouth sometimes when I can't find him straight away.
I realise the best option is to keep him in sight at all times, but I think they need some freedom as they get older too.
 
Are you sure that you're not overreacting to the possible risks involved here? I also wonder if it's healthy from the psychological point of view of the child to be constantly monitored/tracked in this way!
 
Maybe I am. The area we live in is near a lot of industry, therefore lots of traffic, and also near a busy ferry port so sometimes my mind goes into overdrive when I don't find him where he should be...
Maybe I should first be asking how other parents monitor their kids' free time out of the house? Some neighbours keep their children inside the house / small garden all day, which seems a bit much...
 
A tracking device won't stop him getting run over by a truck but educating in him in terms of where he can and should/should not venture and play might.
 
Am I being a worry-merchant? It's very hard to know where to draw the line...
 
I don't have a child that age so don't have personal experience. My gut reaction would be that you are right to worry though. My sister recently told me that for the first time ever she left her 13 year old in a shop alone while she went into the shop next door. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't let him go out with friends unsupervised except in a very limited capacity. Even when I was a child my parents didn't allow me to go out with friends without adult supervision until we were about 14 and even then it was only during daylight hours. I think insisting that he check in with you every so often is an acceptable compromise.
 
It's hard to strike a balance. Our youngest is 9 and while we happily let her play out on the green space (only 100m away, but out of sight of the house) it's only because (a) she has older brothers and sisters who are usually knocking around the same general area, and (b) we've lived there for years and all the neighbours (and their kids) know each other and can be relied on to look out for each other, so to speak. Asking a young lad to 'check in' every 20 or 30 minutes is probably not realistic, though I can understand your concerns. Maybe more like every hour or so?

It's possible to buy , but to be honest that strikes me as overkill. Anyway, surely it's not so much a problem of knowing physically where he is as who he's with, and what he's up to? <:eek:> I agree with ClubMan's point about educating him about what's safe/permissible/advisable, but I also know about nine-year-old boys' capacity to take advice and act sensibly...!

It would certainly be worth making the effort/using this as a pretext to introduce yourself to the parents of some of the new friends — my wife often picks up the 'phone to check if our little one is at so-and-so's house and, without having to ask for it, gets a volunteered reassurance along the lines of 'no, but but I can see them all playing together on the green/in so-and-so's garden'...
(I hasten to add that this system works both ways!)
 
Hi Mel, I have two boys aged 8 and 11 and we too live in an estate, although not near any ports or industry like you describe. We have ground rules with our two and if they break them they are grounded. One of the main ones is that they cannot leave the estate so even though sometimes I might not see them for hours I know they will be up the other end of the estate playing soccer. If they ask, I would let them go to the Supermarket with one of their friends (say for his mother) but if I found out they went without my permission there would be big trouble. I keep stressing to them that if I can't trust them their freedom will be seriously curtailed and this will happen when they're teenagers as well. I also have a 5 year old daughter and she has her own boundaries which obviously are very limited i.e. she must stay on the green in our cul-de-sac. Also have rules about who's houses they can go into. Sounds very regimented but honestly it all runs very smoothly and they are never grounded. Hope this helps.
 
That sounds sensible.

A lot of technology fixes for this just give a false sense of security (and in fact probably don't even do that if you're a worrier, as they can fail). Better by far I think to educate and set boundaries etc.

Apart from anything it builds trust: giving someone a tracker device just says "I don't trust you".
 
Devise a plan with your son - for instance if he was to be followed or attacked he should know of a safe house he could find refuge in. Make sure he knows of all friendly houses in the neighbourhood that could take him in if something were to happen. Agree this with your neighbours and have a reciprocal agreement.

Obviously make sure he has his cellphone with him and turned on. You could agree that he call you at intervals, just tell him to give three rings and then he can hang up. Kids love codes.

Impress on your child the importance of never talking to strangers, no matter how friendly they may seem. Once a conversation begins, a trust starts to build.

Try to give your son as much freedom as possible
 
Agree with all the above but it also has to do with a child's maturity level and not just their age. At 14 I had done my inter cert, and was allowed into town (Dublin) with my friends. I don't think that happens too much these days but I was young starting school and when I was 14 all my friends were 15+ and it wasn't too reasonable to forbid me from doing everything they were doing just because of my age. I was also babysitting at that age and it would be strange for me to mind other children but not myself. A lot depends on the child him/herself.
 
just curious - what are the chances of a child being abducted vs being run over??
 
batty said:
just curious - what are the chances of a child being abducted vs being run over??
Click to expand...
We don't get too hung up on the old abduction theory - think the media is a huge player in hyping parents up about someone going to jump out of the bushes and grab their child but reckon the chances of that happening are slim. While people are concentrating on protecting their children from strangers, people seem to forget that most abuse is committed by people they know and that's what we concentrate on protecting our children from. We're not great on the old sleep overs and if we haven't met both parents it's a complete no go area. Actually its an area we don't really encourage, except with cousins, although its appears to be hugely popular with kids. We do have very occasional chats about a stranger asking them to do something, like get into a car, but, like I said, really believe that this is unlikely to happen and they should be more prepared for a situation in which someone they know push the boundaries.
 
I'd agree with this. Abduction by strangers is extremly rare. Unfortunately, there are plenty of dangers (traffic, drowning and other accidents, inappropriate behavior by those known to them etc.), but these are best dealt with by education.

I know it's a bit of a cliche to blame the media, but they really do present an extremely warped view of the relative positions of perceived vs. real dangers.
 
ang1170 said:
I'd agree with this. Abduction by strangers is extremly rare. Unfortunately, there are plenty of dangers (traffic, drowning and other accidents, inappropriate behavior by those known to them etc.), but these are best dealt with by education.

I know it's a bit of a cliche to blame the media, but they really do present an extremely warped view of the relative positions of perceived vs. real dangers.
Click to expand...


Was bouncing a ball! With the hype with the McCann case I had saw some cases where parents went into overdrive "protecting" their kids. One incidence I saw was at a friends 7 year old Birthday party. One mother drove her child 10 doors up the road to "protect" him from abduction (she told me this). She then proceeded to let him get out on the road side of the car ito the path of an oncoming car!
 
Mel,

check out this website : [broken link removed]

its a kiddies mobile phone that only has an address book to hold 20 numbers.
it has a mam & dad button and when pressed rings their number. It doesn't text and they can't download.
also, it won't pick up calls from numbers not in the address book. Theres some other bits and bobs on it like emergency numbers etc.

so you can call him and he can call you and also they're kind of funky and he'll feel like a cool dude with his phone.
I think its a great idea and comes in all colours and designs.

I'm getting one for my niece and nephew because they're cracking up for phones and are just that bit young but while they think this is a phone its really a safety measure.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone.
I've been away from my desk so haven't had a chance to read all, but will respond later. It's good to know that the freedom he has is fairly normal anyway, and that I'm not being irresponsible in letting him out.
My sister mentioned that phone to me, and while I think 9 is too young for a mobile, that looks like a very sensible compromise.
I'm not actually afraid of him getting run over because he is a fairly cautious kid, his road-crossing is good. And I'm not so afraid of abduction, but what might happen with strangers in the area on a regular basis you just never know. He is warned not to go into other houses apart from the couple of neighbours that we have made friends with, out of courtesy as much as anything else - who needs 10 kids running dirt through the house?! We don't do sleepovers either except with about 2 very good friends and then grandparents of course.
I'll have a better read through later but there is some good advice in what I've seen so far.
Thanks again.
 
Slightly off topic but I would highly recommend this book

http://www.amazon.com/Protecting-Gift-Keeping-Children-Teenagers/dp/0440509009

Its excellent and should be required reading for all parents.
 
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