Comments on: GPS Tracking Watch for Kids: Is it Spying or Good Parenting?

By: Garmin Argentina

Garmin Argentina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:52:25 +0000

clearly that is getting into their personal life.

By: pavan

pavan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:42:22 +0000

needed couple of these products for my childern. iam from india. kindly get back to me.

By: nervousmom

nervousmom — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:50:49 +0000

I looked at this because we’re planning a week at a very busy beach and my 13 year old daughter doesn’t want to be tied to her parents all the time. I remember how great it was to run down the beach by myself, but am terrified at the thought of my 13 year old out there by herself (even if we’re just up the beach a bit). Is this waterproof?

By: wilhemena

wilhemena — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:23:26 +0000

…over the weekend a 7 year old autistic child in Nova Scotia followed the family dog into the woods and could not be located for 48hrs..no jacket, hat or gloves …it’s winter, he was eventually found suffering extreme hypothermia and later died, had he been wearing a gps tracking watch most likely he’d still be alive….

By: kittys_kat

kittys_kat — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:16:18 +0000

I think it should be a must for anybody who has a child under 8. You are hopeful you will never be a parent who get’s the call your kids been missing/kidnapped, but it can happen to anyone, you turn your head or trust someone for a split second, and next thing you know, your child could be gone. I watch my son always, but you still just bever know. I do not think that these things should be used for spying though, but also there are ones that track speed, and I think it would be nice to know how fast a teen is driving when they are alone with friends also. One parent said their child would talk the kidnappers ear off and they would beg to give them back, but lets be realistic… that doesn’t happen

By: Kathe

Kathe — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:51:26 +0000

I am looking into getting this for my 7 year old. It is definetly not a trust or privacy issue. In my experience there are many parents concerned about child abductions. So for the person who said how often does it happen… GOOGLE it!! Parents ‘abduct’ and kidnap their own children when they are in custody disputes. You will be overwhelmingly surprised at what parents will do to keep the children from being taken away from them.

To AJ… this device will alert you if someone takes it off and you have not authorized it. AND let me think… the last time I checked people will take off shoes. So if the child takes off the shoes and switches into flip flops… kinda defeats the purpose of locating the child.

Ted … Again, Most child abductions occur by people that know you and the child… so not always leading to the worst case scenario. If its a stranger that abducts its usually its for monetary gains. Which would be awful in and of itself… but they are not generally abducting for the sake of physically killing.

Waltermom and bumble… I am absolutely with you both… I lost my child in Walmart… ‘Code yellow … 3 year old, red shirt, blue shorts…’ the worst thing I heard coming over a loudspeaker. Kudos to Walmart for the system of blocking all exits and having all on the salespeople on the floor and cash
looking for her. It was so scarey… She on the other hand was hiding in the clothes rack with ‘poncho shirts’ hanging on them – as happy as can be for playing the hide-and-go seek!!!

The watch is unsuspeccting to those who are going to take your children – they assume its a kids watch. My main thing is educating my now 7 yr old never to take it off without telling her what it does to make her freak out about the possibility that someone may take her and not ever want to return her…

By: bumble

bumble — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:56:51 +0000

waltermom, you couldn’t be more correct. I would hope that we can make the case that you don’t have to live through that hell to see the benefit of this product.

By: bumble

bumble — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:54:40 +0000

All of the folks that think this is a bad idea for invasion of privacy, etc… concerns, have never lost a kid for over an hour despite being super vigilante on an incredibly crowded beach. I can tell, you, the worst hour of my life. Best moment of my life — a lifeguard pointing to me and whistling, letting me know that my child was found. It took in this case, 5 seconds and disorientation on a very busy beach. I would never want another parent to feel the way that I did, EVER!

By: waltermom

waltermom — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:16:23 +0000

My son 7 year old son disappeared on a hike in the mountains. It took over two hours to find him – thankfully, alive. People, especially those who don’t even have children, who criticize parents for wanting to know where there children are will have absolutely no idea what it is like for a parent whose child has disappeared. Go through that once and see what you think.

By: fopguy

fopguy — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:20:35 +0000

Its not spying, when its your kids. My kids are my responsibility until they grow up and move out of the house.

I’m thinking about something like this for my 9 & 5YO who will be walking home from school starting next year.

As far as those looking to track their deviant teenagers, your probably too late and should have raised them differently…

By: gibson8or

gibson8or — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:59:46 +0000

From the design and apparent size, it looks like it’s intended for young children. Some kids, no matter how good the parents are, tend to wander away or bolt after things. It can be scarily easy to lose kids in a crowded place. The host of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ had his little boy kidnapped from a mall and murdered- back in the 80′s some of you are nostalgic for.

By: Jacki

Jacki — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:04:49 +0000

How much is this different from a house arrest anklet?
At least it tells time.

By: Epicanis

Epicanis — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:11:11 +0000

Too bad it’s probably grossly overpriced – I find myself thinking “NUTS to the children, can I use this on myself (on purpose, obviously) for recording GPS tracks when I wander around?”

By: ElMeanYo

ElMeanYo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:46:04 +0000

If you are a teenager and you want privacy, get a job and move out. If you are enjoying free rent at your parents house then you have no basis on which to complain. Nuff said.

By: alice

alice — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:49:37 +0000

I was given independance throughout my life, my room was my own, anything private was nothing to do with my parents. My parents were totally shocked when I told them a friends’ parents had read her diary.

I think giving me my freedom was the best gift they could give me. Knowing I would make my own mistakes taught me to be careful, knowing I could always go back to them, however, if it got too bad made me feel safe.

This is just teaching kids that not only do their parents not trust them, but they cannot make their own experiences.

By: Anon

Anon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:04:01 +0000

Hmm… so an alarm is triggered when the watch is removed by force?

OK… SO if you’re a kid and you think the whole GPS watch thing sucks… why not just get in trouble for taking it off over and over. Your parents will then realize they can’t control you in such a way.
I’d rather get in trouble for taking off the watch, than getting caught somewhere I shouldn’t be.

By: ted

ted — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:23:26 +0000

Skipweasel. They wouldn’t be talking much if they were bound and gagged, or maybe dead. If someone’s gonna kidnap a kid, it’s probably not going to end up pretty.

This watch looks more like house arrest rather than something innocuous.

By: Easy

Easy — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:32:54 +0000

A friend of a friend was once paranoid that is girlfriend was having an affair with someone. He found a website that would track your mobile phone on a map. The only problem was, the owner of the phone needed to give permission to the website to track it before it would work.

So the guy bought a cheap pre-paid mobile phone, signed it up to the tracking service, and hid it in her car.

Not sure what he found out but top marks for thinking I reckon.

By: Staxeon

Staxeon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:07:08 +0000

Start the clock: how long before we’re reading about a spouse that uses one of these things to spy on the location of the other?

By: Scooter

Scooter — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:14:03 +0000

Such a device would give me piece of mind if I had it on my Motor Scooter. While at work i can check it and know it’s still in the parking lot, and if stolen I could just go a get it back. The question would be that of COST. I’m sure the watch is expensive and there is a monthly service fee or something.

By: AJ

AJ — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:14:17 +0000

Such a device would give me peace of mind with regard to child abductions, although I’d use a different one that attaches to a shoe so it’s less obvious. An alarming watch would simply get smashed with a hammer.

If used to track an untrusted teenager, well, you’ve failed as a parent.

By: JeffB

JeffB — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:44:37 +0000

Some of best times as a child were spent just wandering and asserting, in small ways, my independence from my parents. This is an important part of growing up, and today’s helicopter parents aren’t doing their kids any favors by planning/tracking their every move.

By: johzephine

johzephine — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:45:26 +0000

spying.

By: robb

robb — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:24:31 +0000

haaa if my mom ever gave me this and told me to put it on, id laugh in her face. seriously this is stupid. i can understand for small children but once that kid reaches the age where he or she knows better, that watch is going down the toilet. or beaten with a hammer.

By: Monkey_Town

Monkey_Town — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:18:16 +0000

Like the above posters, I think this is great for young kids, especially in places where the two of you could be separated.

But when they’re older, not so much.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Urk, this is disgusting. Cut the umbilical cord already!

By: Travis Tubbs

Travis Tubbs — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:41:57 +0000

Another GPS device aimed at monitoring your children. As always, this is one of those it can be good and bad situations.

For younger children, I don’t see the harm. It’s an extra safety measure just in case anything bad were to happen. As children get older, then this could become an issue of privacy. It’s an issue of balancing the good and bad. I would have my child wear it, but would not monitor their every move. It would be used for its safety factor in the event I don’t hear from my child after an extended amount of time (after attempts of contacting him/her and checking with other parents, of course).

Besides, we all know we secretly bug our teenager’s car with a GPS tracking device.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:01:08 +0000

I agree with Senor and Silverbee. This seems like a gret way to ensure your kids safety when they are not with you (ie: at tee ball) or when they could easily get lost (ie: a theme park). Not a replacement for parenting, but definitely would give peace of mind.

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:25:17 +0000

How many kids actually get kidnapped? Ours would talk the ears off any villain – they’d be pleading to be allowed to give them back.

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:32:25 +0000

I would be all for something like this or even an implant for my kids until they turned 12 or 13. But I don’t think I’d spy on them. I’d use it for the dreadful case of kidnapping.

By: silverbee

silverbee — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:52:17 +0000

I think it’s fine as long as it’s used as a backup plan and not a replacement for knowing where your kids are anyway. It could be great for amusement parks or other crowded places where kids can take off in an instant, but should not be used as an excuse to be lazy and not watch your kids.

By: Idil

Idil — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:16:43 +0000

By: Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:54:14 +0000

Maybe it’s asking too much for parents to do their job and keep tabs on their kids without using satellites.

This is where it starts, folks. We’re raising a generation of bagged-and-tagged children, who are being conditioned to be constantly monitored. Pretty soon it won’t be a “big deal” to extend this monitoring to law-abiding adults.

By: Dale

Dale — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:49:44 +0000

Could be given as a gift to suspected cheating spouses – as long as it doesn’t have GPS TRACKING WATCH written on it in big lettering.

By: SenorMysterioso

SenorMysterioso — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:44:26 +0000

I think this is a good idea for young children. More of an “in case of kidnapping” scenario than a “what’s Billy up to” one. One of those things you hope you never have to use. If your kid is supposed to be home by the time the street lights come on and he’s an hour late and not answering the phone, time to fire up the ol’ GPS.

By: Jae

Jae — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:07:28 +0000

“It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?”

No, but she’s 8 months old so she can’t have gotten far…

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:43:38 +0000

So just wrap it in tinfoil, then. GPS is easy to block.
Most cellphones have GPS built in, and there are companies that will track them for a fee. Google gps cell phone tracking. No need for a watch.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:55:35 +0000

If its a teenager that has been going other places when they say that they going to school or the mall or something, then sure, wtach them so they dont get in more trouble.
If its a well behaved teenager without any history of trouble, its creepy

By: Evilbeagle

Evilbeagle — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:08:33 +0000

Whatever happened to building a relationship based on mutual trust and respect with your children? Oh yeah, this generation of precious hothouse flowers sucks and so do their parents.

By: slowcar

slowcar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:01:32 +0000

it’s fashism.

By: rika

rika — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:44:38 +0000

totally ok for pre-school children.. ONLY

By: shadowfirebird

shadowfirebird — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:37:16 +0000

If the kid is old enough to understand what GPS is, and you turn that alarm off, then it’s not spying.

OTOH if they then leave the thing on, you probably don’t need them to wear it.

Simpler to bug their cellphone, I would have thought…

By: clinton labombard

clinton labombard — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:29:17 +0000

“GPS Tracking Watch for Kids: Is it Spying or Good Parenting?”

IT’S BOTH.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:48:51 +0000

This makes me miss the 80s, which is no small feat, but damn…we had it good then. If I had kids today, I’d be more along the lines of that lady who had her kid ride the NY subways home. Experience is everything, on both sides, parent and child.