Would you use GPS to track your child?

It seems like a common feature on phones made "for kids" is have GPS trackers built in.

Would you use this feature to track your children?

How about the GPS tracker you can put on cars? Would you use this to make sure your child was driving their car where they said they were?

Discuss opcorn:

I don't have children and it would be scary if I did, but I'd like to think that people would have developed enough trust with their kid that they wouldn't have to do that. And if their kid isn't trust-worthy, they wouldn't give them so much freedom.
I'm sure there are exceptions, like for younger kids who walk to/from school because a parent can't pick them up, and if you're worried about abductions or something. Though I'd assume most half-intelligent child snatchers would discard of the phone.

No. Just as children need to learn to make decisions on their path to independence, parents need to learn to let go and allow them that freedom.

No, because if the darned piece of junk got stolen I really don't want to know where it ended up. Or are we tracking the driver?

Not only that, but do we really want to have our young kids carrying something around worth stealing?

I wouldn't use either of them, because I feel it shows a lack of trust. If I didn't trust my child, no way would I let them drive a car.

If your child really wanted to make it look like they were somewhere when they weren't, they could always give their phone to a friend. Like, you could tell your mom you were sleeping at Johnny's house. Then you could leave your phone in his room and still go wherever you wanted.

Yes and no....I would never have one with the purpose of "tracking" them...to me that is just wrong.

However, many phones and many cars DO come with it already equipped and I would use it in case of emergency, like if they are missing or something (not hey they are supposed to be at this friends house but are somewhere else instead but actually missing)

though honestly, if they had little trackers that I felt were safe t ostick in a pocket or something I wold consider it for my 5 year old. NOthing to do with trust and all to do with him being a natural born wanderer who pays no attention to his surroundings and trusts everyone. Taking him to crowded places is scary

I totally agree. I'd use it in that case as well.

I'd only do it if I let them know, and if they were under a certain age. Otherwise I think it shows a horrible lack of trust.

I wouldn't use it.

My mother went through my things, my bedroom, my journals, notebooks, etc. all the time when I was a child.

Now I'm 22, and I recently found out she's been taking my cell phone when she has the chance to look through my text messages. I wouldn't be surprised if she logs on to my facebook or email, as well.

I've for the most part never lied to my parents, and the only times I did lie, I wasn't doing anything wrong or that I wasn't allowed to do, I just didn't want their freakin' nosy selves knowing everything about my life. I've never been in any kind of legal trouble, done any hard drugs or been a serious partier or had problems like that, I wasn't sexually active until after I turned 18, my friends were all seriously academically inclined, straight edge, also not sexually active. I'm sure if my mom could have installed a GPS in my car at that point, she would have. I don't think I realized how completely invasive of my privacy and untrusting she was until recently, because she never made any strict rules or gave me a hard time about where I was or who I was with. She's just NOSY.

I'd rather do something like check with other parents that someone will be supervising them, limit their ability to hang out with friends who I think are untrustworthy, etc. And hopefully by the time my kid is old enough to drive they're responsible enough not to do something stupid - and if they're not, well, good luck buying themselves a car and paying for gas.

They'd probably figure out how to dismantle or tamper with the thing anyhow.

Both of these posts are pretty accurate for me as well.

I probably wouldn't use it for tracking purposes to "catch" them doing something wrong

but that whole "Where have you been... for all I know you could have been lying in a ditch somewhere" is a pretty good reason for it. If my child was missing it would be nice to have the ability to try to check their location. Not because of lack of trust but because they could be SERIOUSLY hurt... fell out of a tree in the woods or something.

I wouldn't be like "Ok you said you would be here... lets see where you really are"

I can think of a few times as a kid where it would have been nice if my parents could have tracked where I was and come help me... like when I broke my leg 15 minutes away from my house and no way to let anyone know so the girl I was with had to piggy back me to my house (talk about pain lol)... in retrospect she should have just gone to a house and asked to use the phone but you know that whole STRANGER DANGER/block parent thing was really drilled into us in school lol. Or the time I was lost in a bean field for FOUR HOURS lol.

I would absolutely be honest with Hannah about the device if I decided to use one and when she gets an email account or facebook account etc I will let her know that I WILL have access to it. I wont' abuse it but if I feel there is something truly dangerous going on I will check and she'll know I'm checking.

I said no for other reasons - I would tag a kid under specific circumstances.

I would absolutely tag a kid (and some adults) if we were out hiking in the mountains somewhere. My brother got lost when he was about 10 or so and wandered around the mountains for hours. It was horrifying. I would also tag and/or leash a toddler if they were mobile and wouldn't stay near me.

Outside of younger kids, I wouldn't purposely track a teenager with the intention of catching them doing something wrong. If they were missing and the car/phone had GPS I would absolutely use it to track them.

I've never been given a reason to track my kids, but I have no issues tracking them by any means if I deem it required.

On the flip-side, they also know I can and will do that, so that knowledge may just be the ounce of prevention needed. They also know that if they try turning said features off, their phone (ie, life-blood) gets cut off.

Like I said though, they've given me no reasons thus far and in general have my confidence.

In a heart beat.

With Caleb It is needed due to his disabilities. we are looking at diffrent models now he is 13 and asking for one . I am on the fence becasue I dont let him go off by himself due to his Epilepsy , but Chris and the Doc says I n eed to loosen up the gripe. I dont agree but am out voted.
With JD , he is prone to wander and I feel safer knowing I could find him if needed.

When the girls get old enough then I will see what tech is available and go from there.
It is not to snoop or be nosy , We live in a sick world. i want to do everything in my ability to make sure they walk back in that door after they leave. Even if it have to fetch them from wherever.

I think it would also be very handy for those times when your kid calls you in a panic (or drunk in my little brothers case) wanting you to pick them up but they don't know where they are.

I don't think it's a lack of trust issue (unless you are using it specifically to catch them doing something wrong) so much as a "kids are kids and they are going to do stupid things no matter how responsible they may be" and if there comes a time where my kid needs me to bail them out or help them... it would be very beneficial to be able to see just exactly where they are.

Don't hide it, be honest with your child and I don't see anything wrong with it really.

If they got kidnapped or hurt, lost in the woods, it sure would be a Godsend to have something like that. A lot of hikers and snow sport people use something like that for safety. I think it could be put forth to the teenager that it is for safety reasons, not for snooping reasons and leave it at that.

Well this is all hypothetical for me, but generally no. It's not so much the trust thing, as... as a parent, of course I would want to keep my kids safe but ultimately my job is to teach them to not need me to function in the world. I don't think tracking your child as a method of checking up on them really helps that along, and I don't think it really teaches anything that will last into adulthood once they don't have parents keeping track of them anymore.

My other problem is that it astonishes me that in a country where people constantly complain about our civil liberties being taken away, we are slowly but surely voluntarily giving up on the idea that anything is private anymore with stuff like this. And I don't really want to be a part of that.


Now, for specific circumstances, some of which have already been mentioned - a child with a chronic illness or physical or mental disability - I would consider it as a safety measure. And for very small children I think it's a different story as well. But I'm thinking more like... pre-teens and teenagers who are starting to go out into the world, I'm not going to track them to make sure they went to Susie's for a sleepover like they said they would.

I think it's totally different if your kid is going hiking alone or has a disability. I wouldn't get one for the purpose of 'in case they don't come home' but if they participate in potentially dangerous or isolated sports, it makes sense. But even in the event of an emergency without a specific GPS installed, most cell phones can be tracked by police or phone companies.

Trust, smust. I have a great relationship with my parents and they used "find my iphone" on me when I drove by myself (at almost 30) from Las Vegas to Portland. My parents bought me a cell phone (a BRICK!) at 13, I was the first of my friends, but it was a safety precaution. People worry, I would utilize technology to keep a safe eye on my kid.

I don't think trust is built or broken by something like this.