Tracking Our Kids

Many of us work or do not drive our kids to and from school for a variety of reasons. Consequently, our children may walk to school. Other children may commute to and from on school buses and public transportation. Some may even drive to school once they reach legal driving age. Others may occasionally use car services like Uber or Lyft. Even though, these services have policies against kids under eighteen riding without an adult. Children of working parents may become latch-key kids before and/or after school. When we cannot transport our kids from point A to B we want to know they are safe. We want to communicate with them. And we want to know their location. Did they get to school safe? Are they home after school?

Their independence and mobility make parents seek resources to locate their kids and help ensure their safety. These circumstances are ideal for parents to use technology for tracking kids.

Our children attend after school activities, sports games or social events that takes them away from home and outside our direct supervision. They may travel to and from their engagements with friends. Or they may travel alone without you or other adults. Sometimes we relish their independence. Other times their independence can be troubling. Their freedom becomes worrisome when it conflicts with our need to know their whereabouts and our concern for their safety. Their freedom to move about without us becomes a problem when our child has not answered our calls or has not responded to our text messages in a timely manner. Parents begin to worry when they are out of touch with their kids. We fear they are not where they should be, lost or in harms way. Our violent society feeds their apprehension. Kidnappings, acts of violence and reports of missing children occur all over the nation. We hear about these threats and acts all too often in the media. No wonder we are looking for ways to track our kids.

There are several devices on the market that are available to help us track our kids and ease our concerns. These devices vary in functionality and scope. I’ve found that kid tracking technology comes in three different forms:

1. 1. Smart watches
   2. Gadgets that can be worn on our kid’s clothes.
   3. And devices that are carried in a pocket or attached to wrist band or a clip.

I am going to take a closer look at the devices in that are not smart watches. Instead, I’m going to examine tracking devices that attach to kids’ clothing or are carried in pockets, wrist bands or clips

I found several devices that are attached to clothing or carried with some type of holder such as a band, clip or loop. Three of the most popular are the AngelSense Kids’ GPS Tracker, Jiobit and PocketFinder.

The AngelSense Kids’ GPS The AngelSense Kids’ GPS is a GPS tracker that attaches to your child with special fasteners. It can be securely attached to a pocket or belt. The only way to remove AngelSense is to unlock the device with the magnetic key. OR remove the clothing that it’s attached to. The device is good for a special needs child or anyone that has autism or dementia. In reality AngelSense Kids’ is an older Verizon phone. But it doesn’t work like a regular cell phone and it doesn’t have a screen. AngelSense offers: Safety-zone setup Thirty-second updates Parent’s listen-in functions. Put your mind at ease by checking on your child. AngelSense gives you a chance to spy on your kid. You can see for yourself if she is okay. Is someone bullying your son? Two way voice – walkie-talkie style. You and your child can talk without the need for him to pick up or click on any buttons. This is a valuable feature for children with sensory sensitivities such as sensitivity to touch, sound or light. You can set up various alerts such as: wandering alert unexpected vehicle stop alert late departure alert runner alert – used for finding a lost child first responder alert – one click, text messaging to a designated group of people regarding yourlost child. Additionally, you have a live view of your child’s location and directions to that location and your child. “Less is more” comes to mind when I think of a child with autism or other disability affecting his motor skills. Using a cell phone could be challenging or almost impossible to maneuver. AngelSense addresses this issue with the two-way talk feature. The device offers a multitude of other features. In addition to tracking, it helps you stay connected with your child. It offers alerts to keep you on top of his activities. AngelSense gives you the ability to actually hear what is happening as it occurs. As parents, we know that some kids may find this feature intrusive. However, a special needs child may find it reassuring.

The Jiobit

The Jiobit is a tiny waterproof GPS tracker with a built-in loop that can be attached to shoe strings, a belt or a button hole. Attachments are available so the Jiobit can be worn on a waistband clip, secure loop, strap clip or an outer sleeve. It can be attached to shoe strings, a belt or a button hole. It is lightweight and about the size of a double “A” battery.

Jiobit is Kidsafer certified. The company offers a 30-day risk free trial. It has GPS tracking and Bluetooth tethering. Bluetooth tethering sets off an alarm when your child exceeds the range of distance you established. It works with an Android or iOS app. The owner can invite other app users to be caregivers. The caregivers’ phones will automatically attach to Jiobit when it is in range. Parents or caregivers can set Trusted Places, which are geofences. The geofence has a radius of 100 to 800 feet from a specific point/location. Caregivers will be alerted when the device enters or leaves a designated radius

The PocketFinder

The PocketFinder is a key chain size mini GPS tracking device that claims to be the best small GPS tracker for kids and pets. It is made of military grade material providing excellent durability and has military grade privacy protection. Military grade privacy makes PocketFinder hack proof. PocketFinder tracks your child’s location and direction. And it provides up to 60 days of recorded history. You can use a smartphone or web browser to connect to the application. It’s easy to set up and allows you to establish safe zones. Alerts can be set up for when your kid enters or exists a safe zone. When your child needs to contact you, he can send a SOS signal by pushing the PocketFinder’s SOS button. Speed limit alerts can also be set up to monitor vehicles. The PocketFinder features multiple alerts to emails, applications and SMS.

I’ve discussed three wearable devices to track your kid. Each has a GPS tracking, monthly service fees and alerts to notify you of various activities such as entering and exiting safe zones, arriving late for school and more. Prices may vary. I found these range from around $129.99 for the Jiobit, $159.00 for the PocketFinder and the AngelSense sells for $229. Because our lives and that of our children are demanding and busy, we cannot always be present for every kids’ activity. So we seek ways to be in touch with them. We look to devices for support. And we willingly incur yet another monthly service fee for these tracking gadgets. We begin the process of tracking our kids with optimism. Hopefully, we gain some sense of assurance that our kids are accessible to us and safe.