Should parents use a GPS tracking device to monitor their children?

1069 · Nov 3, 2009

Should parents use GPS tracking to monitor their children?

Most cell phones already have them.
In the case of, say, a runaway teenager, the cell phone company can trace them down as long as their phone doesn't die.
I wouldn't say it's "practical" on a day-to-day basis, but in an emergency or potentially dangerous situation, yes; certainly.
Although it would probably be very reassuring to anxiety-raddled parents like myself to keep track of our children's every move, every second... it would not be good for the children. And in the end, it would probably just cause more friction and discontent within families.
Kids and especially teens need a long leash.
If a parent's worth a damn, kids will find their way home eventually, however far they might range.

Sir Loin · Nov 3, 2009

Kandahar said:
If you actually use that service? Yes.

That "service" is a well known search engine and you can type in any cell phone number and track it. Welcome to the 21st century.

Kandahar · Nov 3, 2009

Sir Loin said:
That "service" is a well known search engine and you can type in any cell phone number and track it. Welcome to the 21st century.

I typed my cell phone number into Google and Yahoo, and didn't find my current location anywhere. What search engine are you talking about?

Sir Loin · Nov 3, 2009

Kandahar said:
I typed my cell phone number into Google and Yahoo, and didn't find my current location anywhere. What search engine are you talking about?

Ah perhaps the litigation around this matter was resolved since I last checked into it. My bad! In any case I'd hate to be the cause of such "evil" behavior on your behalf!

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Ikari said:
The thing I'd be worried about is acclimation. Basically, if we aggregate the use of this device to too large a level you have kids running around whom have always been monitored. Their parents tracked them when they were kids, the authority is presumed right and with rightful power to watch your every move to "protect" you and to ensure you're behaving as to their rules. If the government wants to do it, why not? What's really the difference between parents and the government, the government is merely a higher form of authority. If it was ok for your parents to track you, you've been monitored all your life; why would you really object to the government doing it?

While it takes some time to get from A to B, I would worry about the real world affects of teaching kids that they should expect to be monitored at all times by the authority.

The government cannot use such devices on citizens that have done nothing legally wrong. It is against the Constitution. Right to privacy and all that.

And you can teach kids the difference.

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Kandahar said:
If your kids are doing things like that, then perhaps you need to do a better job of raising them instead of expecting a machine to do it for you.

Tells us Kandahar, what stupid crap did you do while a child? And do you blame your parents for not raising you correctly?

Point being is that no matter how hard a parent tries kids will still try and do crap they're not suppose to. It's actually a natural stage in any child's development.

Anyone that thinks different are either naive parents or have no children of their own.

btw...my kids are 2 and 4 years old. So no need to go through their crap as of yet. And while I don't plan to go through it when they get older I will if I have a reason to. And I've got the right to do so.

Sir Loin · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
Tells us Kandahar, what stupid crap did you do while a child? And do you blame your parents for not raising you correctly?

Point being is that no matter how hard a parent tries kids will still try and do crap they're not suppose to. It's actually a natural stage in any child's development.

Anyone that thinks different are either naive parents or have no children of their own.

btw...my kids are 2 and 4 years old. So no need to go through their crap as of yet. And while I don't plan to go through it when they get older I will if I have a reason to. And I've got the right to do so.

LoJack is pure evil so naturally LoJack for your child is even more so....................sssssssssssssssssss!:devil:

Kandahar · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
Tells us Kandahar, what stupid crap did you do while a child? And do you blame your parents for not raising you correctly?

I never did anything really bad, other than just the kind of boisterous stuff that all kids do.

Kal'Stang said:
Point being is that no matter how hard a parent tries kids will still try and do crap they're not suppose to. It's actually a natural stage in any child's development.

The examples you cited weren't just normal rowdy kid behavior though. You were speculating about the kid having sex at age 13, stealing cars, and being truant. Most kids do NOT do things like that. If a kid is doing those things, it's most likely because of bad parenting. And if the parent raised them properly, then there is no need to invade the kid's privacy because you're worried about them doing those things.

Kal'Stang said:
btw...my kids are 2 and 4 years old. So no need to go through their crap as of yet. And while I don't plan to go through it when they get older I will if I have a reason to. And I've got the right to do so.

The "right" to do so? Does that make it a good idea? If you want your kids to hate you and never trust you again, by all means track them with a GPS and then confront them every time they aren't where they say they'll be.

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Kandahar said:
I never did anything really bad, other than just the kind of boisterous stuff that all kids do.

Perhaps you should define this. It appears that we have different definations of the kinds of "boisterous stuff that all kids do".

Kandahar said:
The examples you cited weren't just normal rowdy kid behavior though. You were speculating about the kid having sex at age 13, stealing cars, and being truant. Most kids do NOT do things like that. If a kid is doing those things, it's most likely because of bad parenting. And if the parent raised them properly, then there is no need to invade the kid's privacy because you're worried about them doing those things.

Everything that I listed came from personal experiance. Either by myself doing it or a friend doing it. And I have quite the wide range in experiances from many different area's of the US. Are you suggesting that my parents had bad parenting skills? That would be quite funny considering the values that I have. Like not ever hitting a woman, telling the truth, only fighting when there is no other recourse etc etc.

Kandahar said:
The "right" to do so? Does that make it a good idea? If you want your kids to hate you and never trust you again, by all means track them with a GPS and then confront them every time they aren't where they say they'll be.

A parents first job is to protect and take care of their child. By any means necessary. A parents second job is to be friends with their child.

Though I wouldn't like my kids hating me or not trusting me I would rather that happen than they grow up thinking that they can get away with anything. Dr. Spock came up with the idea that you should be a friend to your child first. He's an idiot and is the reason that kids can't even bring a gun to school for some after school hunting fun anymore, or that parents can't properly punish their kids anymore. IMO.

Kandahar · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
Perhaps you should define this. It appears that we have different definations of the kinds of "boisterous stuff that all kids do".

Umm well...
I got in a fight once in 5th grade. I was occasionally mean to my younger brother. I got a Saturday School in 9th grade for dropping an F-bomb. I left school early a couple times my senior year, just because I could get away with it. I occasionally got low grades due to not doing my homework. But I can't think of anything I did that was REALLY bad, certainly not on the scale of stealing a car...

Kal'Stang said:
Everything that I listed came from personal experiance. Either by myself doing it or a friend doing it. And I have quite the wide range in experiances from many different area's of the US. Are you suggesting that my parents had bad parenting skills? That would be quite funny considering the values that I have. Like not ever hitting a woman, telling the truth, only fighting when there is no other recourse etc etc.

So you did all those things and turned out OK...without your parents using a GPS tracker on you. What's the lesson to be learned here?

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Kandahar said:
Umm well...
I got in a fight once in 5th grade. I got a Saturday School in 9th grade for saying "**** you" to another student and a teacher overheard. I left school early a couple times my senior year, just because I could get away with it. I occasionally got low grades due to not doing my homework. I was occasionally mean to my younger brother. But I can't think of anything I did that was REALLY bad, certainly not on the scale of stealing a car...

So since you obviously did something bad do you blame your parents for "bad parenting"?

Kandahar said:
So you did all those bad things and turned out OK...without your parents using a GPS tracker on you. What's the lesson to be learned here?

I didn't do all of those bad things. Just some. And these are different times. I'm quite sure that if GPS tracking had been around at the time I was a kid my parents would have used it on my sister. She was always skipping school or sneaking out in the middle of the night. Hell she was pregnant by age 15. And since they would have used it on her I'm sure they would have used it on me.

While I don't dispute that kids can't be taught without the GPS tracker I'm not going to dispute it's advantages either. If we had it when I was a kid I'm quite sure my sister would not have gotten pregnant at age 15. And I prolly wouldn't have done the things that I did either.

Kandahar · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
So since you obviously did something bad do you blame your parents for "bad parenting"?

Like I said, I can't think of anything really bad I did, other than just normal obnoxious kid stuff.

Kal'Stang said:
And these are different times.

No they aren't. That's what parents of every generation say, to justify snooping on their kids. What makes things so much more dangerous for kids now as opposed to in the past?

Kal'Stang said:
I'm quite sure that if GPS tracking had been around at the time I was a kid my parents would have used it on my sister. She was always skipping school or sneaking out in the middle of the night. Hell she was pregnant by age 15.

You don't think she'd figure out what was going on, the first time your parents somehow knew that she wasn't where she said she was?

Kal'Stang said:
And since they would have used it on her I'm sure they would have used it on me.

Just because your parents were apparently nosy doesn't mean it's right to invade your kid's privacy.

Kal'Stang said:
While I don't dispute that kids can't be taught without the GPS tracker I'm not going to dispute it's advantages either. If we had it when I was a kid I'm quite sure my sister would not have gotten pregnant at age 15. And I prolly wouldn't have done the things that I did either.

What I said up above applies to you as well: The first time your parents somehow knew where you were (when you weren't where you said you were), you don't think you could have figured out what was happening and removed/destroyed the GPS tracker?

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Kandahar said:
No they aren't. That's what parents of every generation say, to justify snooping on their kids. What makes things so much more dangerous for kids now as opposed to in the past?

You definately don't have kids do you? Me and my dad have talked about school shootings. Do you know that he can't remember of one single incident while he was in school of some kid coming into the school and shooting people? And yet...how many school shootings have there been just since the 90s? There's one example for ya.

Kandahar said:
You don't think she'd figure out what was going on, the first time your parents somehow knew that she wasn't where she said she was?

You don't think kids don't lie? Or aren't sneaky enough to make it to where the parents don't find out? There are still things that my parents don't know about that us kids did.

Kandahar said:
Just because your parents were apparently nosy doesn't mean it's right to invade your kid's privacy.

Are you talking ethically here? If so then again, what is more important? Kids safety and well being or their privacy?

Kandahar said:
What I said up above applies to you as well: The first time your parents somehow knew where you were (when you weren't where you said you were), you don't think you could have figured out what was happening and removed/destroyed the GPS tracker?

Same reply as what you said about my sister.

Kandahar · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
You definately don't have kids do you? Me and my dad have talked about school shootings. Do you know that he can't remember of one single incident while he was in school of some kid coming into the school and shooting people? And yet...how many school shootings have there been just since the 90s? There's one example for ya.

The odds that your kid will die in a school shooting are nil. Just because the media hypes something doesn't mean it's actually a serious danger.

Kal'Stang said:
You don't think kids don't lie? Or aren't sneaky enough to make it to where the parents don't find out? There are still things that my parents don't know about that us kids did.

Well that's my point. At most, your parents would've busted your sister (or you) ONCE for not being where you said you were. Then you'd probably think "Hmm, I wonder how they knew" and before long you'd have found the GPS tracker and removed/destroyed it.

Kal'Stang said:
Are you talking ethically here? If so then again, what is more important? Kids safety and well being or their privacy?

I'm still not seeing how the GPS tracker is going to make them more safe. If they don't want to be found, they're going to make sure they don't have the tracker with them. And the odds of them randomly being abducted are tiny.

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Kandahar said:
The odds that your kid will die in a school shooting are nil. Just because the media hypes something doesn't mean it's actually a serious danger.

Just because the danger is low does not mean that it is not there. Unlike during the time that my dad went to school. When it wasn't there at all. And that was just one example. How many kids get pregnant because they skipped school?

Kandahar said:
Well that's my point. At most, your parents would've busted your sister (or you) ONCE for not being where you said you were. Then you'd probably think "Hmm, I wonder how they knew" and before long you'd have found the GPS tracker and removed/destroyed it.

Do you think that parents wouldn't lie to their kid to protect them? All a parent would have to say is that they "heard" about <insert what was going on here> from <insert blame object/person here>. Tracker still not searched for and found.

Kandahar said:
I'm still not seeing how the GPS tracker is going to make them more safe. If they don't want to be found, they're going to make sure they don't have the tracker with them. And the odds of them randomly being abducted are tiny.

In this case (the OP) the device could easily be gotten rid of granted. However there is always the chip or cell phone. Did you know that they know have cell phones that do the same thing as the tracker in the OP? Either one can track a kid if they do happen to get kidnapped. Though the cell could be thrown out granted. But there is still the chance that it can help. Other ways that it can help has already been mentioned. Like knowing that your kid is skipping school..you go look for them and find out that they are at a motel playing with the one-eyed snake. You just consider the threat to be "insignificant" so much as to not bother with it. Others don't.

Kandahar · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
Just because the danger is low does not mean that it is not there. Unlike during the time that my dad went to school. When it wasn't there at all.

I highly doubt that random shooting sprees are a new phenomenon that has only occurred since 1990; there have always been psychopaths. They're just reported more in the media now. In any case, the likelihood of dying in a school shooting is so low there's no point in worrying about it. Besides, a GPS tracker isn't going to protect your kids anyway...aren't they supposed to be at school?

Kal'Stang said:
And that was just one example. How many kids get pregnant because they skipped school?

Uhh no one gets pregnant because they skipped school, unless biology has changed a lot recently.

If you're asking about teen pregnancy in general, it's much lower now than it was in previous decades. So that doesn't justify a "times have changed" attitude toward invading kids' privacy either.

Kal'Stang said:
Do you think that parents wouldn't lie to their kid to protect them? All a parent would have to say is that they "heard" about <insert what was going on here> from <insert blame object/person here>. Tracker still not searched for and found.

If the kid repeatedly falls for that, they must not be very bright. Didn't you just say how clever you and your sister were at preventing your parents from finding things out?

Kal'Stang said:
In this case (the OP) the device could easily be gotten rid of granted. However there is always the chip or cell phone. Did you know that they know have cell phones that do the same thing as the tracker in the OP? Either one can track a kid if they do happen to get kidnapped.

These freak occurrences simply don't happen often enough to worry about.

Kal'Stang said:
Though the cell could be thrown out granted. But there is still the chance that it can help. Other ways that it can help has already been mentioned. Like knowing that your kid is skipping school..you go look for them and find out that they are at a motel playing with the one-eyed snake.

If your kid is skipping school to go to a motel and play with the one-eyed snake, you've already made some serious parenting errors. No need to compound those errors by trying to get a machine to do your parenting for you.

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

You know Kandahar I find it amazing that you can dismiss so many things as being trivial to the extant that you don't need to worry about them. You don't have kids do you?

Sir Loin · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
You know Kandahar I find it amazing that you can dismiss so many things as being trivial to the extant that you don't need to worry about them. You don't have kids do you?

Kandahar is, based on his stated age and by any measure, truly a kid.

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Sir Loin said:
Kandahar is, based on his stated age and by any measure, truly a kid.

Sorry don't think I've seen him state his age. Got a link?

Sir Loin · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
Sorry don't think I've seen him state his age. Got a link?

Got his profile on screen. Which unless I am a complete MORON means he ain't a senior citizen.:rofl

Kal'Stang · Nov 4, 2009

Sir Loin said:
Got his profile on screen. Which unless I am a complete MORON means he ain't a senior citizen.:rofl

All that I see in his profile is that he was born on March 28. No year given.

Ikari · Nov 4, 2009

Kal'Stang said:
The government cannot use such devices on citizens that have done nothing legally wrong. It is against the Constitution. Right to privacy and all that.

And you can teach kids the difference.

Yeah...being against the Constitution has really stopped the government in the past.

Ikari · Nov 4, 2009

Elena said:
1. Until they get their own kids. Why do you think adoption services are not too keen on people with biological children adopting?

'

Absolutely bull****. I know several families whom have adopted because they wanted to adopt a child to give them a better life. They also have their own children. Maybe your empathy is broken, but for the vast majority of people your statement is absolutely false.

Elena said:
2. Really? Use your imagination and put yourself in a position when, let's say you have a choice of sacrificing your child (if you don't have children, imagine your mother) or your family friend. What would be your choice?

I don't know about that situation, I'd do my best to save them both. If I had to sacrifice myself to do so, I would.

windovervocalcords · Nov 4, 2009

In general, I'm opposed to this kind of thing being done with children. It's not a bad idea though for parolees.

EpicDude86 · Nov 4, 2009

jamesrage said:
As long as it is not a implant it should be up the parent whether or not the parent wants to stick a GPS device in Little's Timmy's backpack or lunch box.

This about sums it up. It's a lot less embarrassing and damaging to the child than putting them on one of those elastic leashes.

Should parents use a GPS tracking device to monitor their children?

Should parents use GPS tracking to monitor their children?

Yes! An implanted chip would be even safer!

Yes, I think this is a practical way to keep track of kids

It would be warranted in some cases

I'm not comfortable with this idea, I don't think so

Brave New World here we come. They've gotta start them young. :rolleyes:

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