Would you be in favour of a tracking device for your child?

Madam_X

bbam wrote: »

That's a very innocent view of the world and foolish in my opinion..

I know children in my area who were abused, and not in institutions or by the church.. equally we know we have a convicted sex offender living in our town..

Still doesn't mean there are countless paedos around. Buying into that red-top media fuelled notion is what's naive IMO.
It has also helped foster a culture of suspicion around many men, especially those who are single/working with children, which is frightening and depressing.

It also helps foster a culture of unnecessary fear - not fair to children.

HeyThereDeliah

No would not be in favour of it I don't think it's the ways children should be reared,child abduction is not common.

anncoates

Despite all the homilies about the old days and the modern media-driven pedo-panics, child abduction is still very rare, The current case was some semi-rural village in Wales: not somewhere you would think is 'dangerous'. Maseline McCamm was taken from the same sort of the resort that thousands of us bring our kids to.

I have kids and my guts wrench at the thought of this case but it's still a rare occurrence, thankfully.

rab!dmonkey

rolion wrote: »

We (my teens and I) agreed to install a tracking code on their smartphone.
That allow me /us to see instant position and daily tracks.
They were going out with phone and GPS on and never had any issues.
They lied few times that battery or coverage or signal,but u shown then the software indicates battery still ok,just they are messing around !

WHY...because some external factors (one of the kids suffered attack with knife and phone stolen,while other just to be on a safe side).

We used the system for a while,nothing serious,just calling and validating their position around in estate.
After a while,confidence in themselves (age) and trust build between us (they and me) we kind of let that go off and today i have no issues with their where abouts or they been scared to wander around estate.

Overall,i'll do it again with GPS and/or RFID for the little chap that is going missing for hours in the neighbours homes...

Mcirochips...i reckon is a little bit too far,at least in my estate !
Is very important that th ekids are not talking to strangers AND neighborhood is very alert and careful !It happened to me few times to see kids "lost" in shops and've stopped them asking for their mum/dad just to see that somebody said is with me (sometime like i was trying to do something bad).

I think you'll agree that a voluntary agreement between a parent and a teen/young adult to use a tracking device - which can be disabled at will - in response to a well-defined threat is very different to implanting an electronic device into the body of a baby without consent (or perhaps even knowledge) to guard against some nebulous threat of abductors.

Da Shins Kelly

Madam_X wrote: »

Still doesn't mean there are countless paedos around. Buying into that red-top media fuelled notion is what's naive IMO.
It has also helped foster a culture of suspicion around many men, especially those who are single/working with children, which is frightening and depressing.

'Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 who plays with a child that is not their own is a paedophile - some people are just nice'.

- 'Thou Shalt Always Kill' by Scroobius Pip

1ZRed

No because then parents would start to obsess about where their children are all the time and look it up through a convenient app no doubt.
What if you were looking after the child of a friend or family member, the parents could be checking up on where you took it/where you didn't. Never mind the child, it could take away from the privacy of people around it!

I'm probably seeing the the extreme overbearing patental side of things but it could well happen, easily.

opti0nal

bbam wrote: »

I would be much more in favour of making the sex offenders register a public database.. That way people would be aware of the risks in their areas. We are aware of the location of a previous sex offender in our area, that's just one, I'd like to know if there are any more.

You would be looking in the wrong direction. The greatest risk to children comes from within their own families.

Thumby

I would have said no until my eldest disappeared for a few hours yesterday. He didn't come home from school and didn't have his phone with him. I was going out of my mind with worry until we'd found him.

opti0nal

Thumby wrote: »

I would have said no until my eldest disappeared for a few hours yesterday. He didn't come home from school and didn't have his phone with him. I was going out of my mind with worry until we'd found him.

Who was more upset, you or him?

Maybe it's time to let go a bit.

Thumby

@optional, that's the thing, he has alot of freedom. He's just started first year and i feel its important that he has that. I have no problem with him not coming home straight after school once i know. When he didn't get in touch i started to worry as it completely out of character for him. At the end of the day he is still only 12 and no child that age should have total freedom to come and go as they please.

Gauss

NegativeCreep wrote: »

No. I think it's a giant overreaction. The chances of you being abducted as a child is miniscule.

They could also simply get lost somewhere. Or fall down a ditch.

opti0nal

Thumby wrote: »

@optional, that's the thing, he has alot of freedom. He's just started first year and i feel its important that he has that. I have no problem with him not coming home straight after school once i know. When he didn't get in touch i started to worry as it completely out of character for him. At the end of the day he is still only 12 and no child that age should have total freedom to come and go as they please.

It's a balance between your need to know and his privacy/freedom. Surely this incident would be a once-off, where you just explain to him how it made you feel and he agrees to check in with you?

Overflow

NegativeCreep wrote: »

No. I think it's a giant overreaction. The chances of you being abducted as a child is miniscule.

But what if ? Are you a parent ?

xzanti

If it were painless for the baby, completely harmless to the body and easily removed when they come of age, then I think it would be a good thing, personally.

Anything that minimises the risk of a child being abducted has to be a good development..

And I think a Parent has every right to know of their child's whereabouts until at least the age of 16..

Thumby

Ah yeah i had that chat with him again last night. Told so long as i know where he is/who he's with it's fine. I'd never go to the extent of having him chipped, but i did turn on the gps tracker on his phone. He's come home late now and again when he's been out with his friends and thats grand because i knew where he was, yesterday was more to do with no one knew where he had gone after school or who he was with and he hadn't let anyone know. Like i said it's so out of character for him that i naturally started to worry.

Thumby

I don't expect him to check in with me once i know ahead of time what his plans are. He needs his independence as well but also has to remember that he has certain responsiblities that come with the extra freedom as well.

uRbaN

I would definately track my child, particularly on holidays in a foreign country.

I think people are letting their imaginations run wild. GPS Tracking is not the same as microchipping. Correct me if I'm wrong but microchipping a pet allows somebody with a scanner to identify the pet...but they must have the pet beside them to scan.

GPS Tracking is based on locating the child when you cannot find them...completely different. There are a variety of products out there to achieve this...many seem to be square peg in a round hole type solutions.

The main challenge seems to be marrying a small enough unit with a decent battery life.

I think there is a market if you can find a decent unit, that is easily placed on the child (like secreted on a belt) and that is easy to use i.e. via a dedicated smartphone app...not receiving Lats & longs and not having to use a web interface.
Price is also a concern. How much would somebody pay for this..€100 per year?

JohnMarston

Implanting tracking devices will lead to some sick people cutting off limbs to avoid detection.
Having a tracking device as an accessory would be too easy to remove.

I'd be more in favour of more and better CCTV cameras and better facial recognition software, especially in more isolated regions of the country.

oc_pl

As a father of 2 young kids myself I would be in favour of it. You can say punish people properly and it might deter people, but look at the states and the sentences they have over there and child abduction still happens. The faster you can locate the kid the better the chance of finding them alive or in the worst case scenario finding their body and being able to get closure.

HeyThereDeliah

oc_pl wrote: »

As a father of 2 young kids myself I would be in favour of it. You can say punish people properly and it might deter people, but look at the states and the sentences they have over there and child abduction still happens. The faster you can locate the kid the better the chance of finding them alive or in the worst case scenario finding their body and being able to get closure.

Would you not think this would make lazy parents who cannot be bothered to see where the kids are even more lazy?
I think if it were possible it would lead to very bad parenting in some cases.
I know it's not possible to watch them every minute of the day but when out of the home parents should be looking out for their kids.

oc_pl

HeyThereDeliah wrote: »

Would you not think this would make lazy parents who cannot be bothered to see where the kids are even more lazy?
I think if it were possible it would lead to very bad parenting in some cases.
I know it's not possible to watch them every minute of the day but when out of the home parents should be looking out for their kids.

I suppose thats a possibility, it opens a can of worms. But if it meant locating my lost kids I would certainly avail of it.

Pompey Magnus

I think there was a story about some security conscious Austrian dad who went one step better than this a few years ago, I don't remember the full details but he built a fully secure chamber under his house to keep his daughter safely protected from being abducted, I believe it worked a treat.

HeyThereDeliah

oc_pl wrote: »

I suppose thats a possibility, it opens a can of worms. But if it meant locating my lost kids I would certainly avail of it.

How many times have you lost them?
Next it will be tag them as teenagers and they will not be able to go outside a certain limit and not get into trouble.
It's not the way children should be reared. Parents take on a responsibility when they have children and making sure they are safe is their priority.

MrTsSnickers

xzanti wrote: »

If it were painless for the baby, completely harmless to the body and easily removed when they come of age, then I think it would be a good thing, personally.

Anything that minimises the risk of a child being abducted has to be a good development..

And I think a Parent has every right to know of their child's whereabouts until at least the age of 16..

If that's the way you feel, why do you not just make them stay home or attend whatever it is they're doing. I agree that parents should know where their kids are and I agree that parents need to know where their kids are. But children need to learn how to gain trust from their parents. Now, I don't mean that at 12 on a Friday night 15/16 year olds should be out and about (thats my view) without their parents knowing where exactly where they are and I'm not there yet with my fella, so I don't know yet how we'll navigate that, but surely if they are at a supervised disco or something then that should be enough if you trust them. It's up to the parent to decide what disco etc is acceptably supervised.

However, we need to equip our children with the skills to be able to operate in society, for them to build confidence in their decision making skills and for them ultimately to turn into responsible adults. They also need to hone their instincts. In my estate there are a few different "greens", I've told my child that he can go as far as x place and no further, there are consequences if I have to look for him outside these areas. Every so often, at random points, I'll do a spot check..and tell him after why I am there (I'm checking that I can trust you). He has gone to other areas, I have caught him and the consequences been enforced.

Kids are learning the ways of the world, if we don't allow to explore or facilitate the learning we are failures as parents. They have to learn how to navigate obstacles, trust their instincts and gain confidence.

I've warned my fella (while trying not to scare the living daylights out of him - That's v difficult, especially with that little girl in mind) that he should never get in to a car with anyone, aside from his immediate family, if he is walking distance from home. He's nearly 8 so he's never more than maybe 4/500 yards from the house. Even if it means getting soaked to the bone he's to walk/run home..he can always have a hot shower. Most abductions are familial abductions, then I'd say it's someone that is known to the child then strangers (correct me if I'm wrong).

In sum, no, I would be against tracking devices.

oc_pl

HeyThereDeliah wrote: »

How many times have you lost them?
Next it will be tag them as teenagers and they will not be able to go outside a certain limit and not get into trouble.
It's not the way children should be reared. Parents take on a responsibility when they have children and making sure they are safe is their priority.

I've never lost them and hopefully never will. I agree its not the way children should be reared, they should be able to go out and play without risk of some unscrupulous bastard snatching them for their own filthy, depraved means, but unfortunatetly this is the world we live.

I don't know if you're familiar with the Sarah Payne case in the UK, it only takes a second for something to happen and as I said earlier the quicker you can find them the better the possibilty of a positive outcome.

HeyThereDeliah

oc_pl wrote: »

I've never lost them and hopefully never will. I agree its not the way children should be reared, they should be able to go out and play without risk of some unscrupulous bastard snatching them for their own filthy, depraved means, but unfortunatetly this is the world we live.

I don't know if you're familiar with the Sarah Payne case in the UK, it only takes a second for something to happen and as I said earlier the quicker you can find them the better the possibilty of a positive outcome.

I'm familiar with the incidents in the UK and yes it would be good to be able to find them straight away but why stop at children lets put tracking devices in everyone.
There are positives and negatives but I'm still in the no side tbh. I honestly feel it would make some parents lazy.

uRbaN

HeyThereDeliah wrote: »

I'm familiar with the incidents in the UK and yes it would be good to be able to find them straight away but why stop at children lets put tracking devices in everyone.
There are positives and negatives but I'm still in the no side tbh. I honestly feel it would make some parents lazy.

I don't think it would make some parents lazy. Knowing where your child (emphasis on child..I'm talking under 4) is doesn't necessarily give you peace of mind.
Some parents are bad parents, some parents are good parents. All the technology in the World does not change this.

What do you mean by putting tracking devices in everyone? This is not Will Smith on top of a building technology we are talking here...

Intensive Care Bear

First gps trackers in kitkats and now in children, where will it end?

Wouldn't need one, not in the habit of losing my children.

HeyThereDeliah

uRbaN wrote: »

I don't think it would make some parents lazy. Knowing where your child (emphasis on child..I'm talking under 4) is doesn't necessarily give you peace of mind.
Some parents are bad parents, some parents are good parents. All the technology in the World does not change this.

What do you mean by putting tracking devices in everyone? This is not Will Smith on top of a building technology we are talking here...

What age would you remove the tracking device ?
Why not leave it there permanent they will always be safe then, they will be found not necessarily safe.

Ellis Dee

RFID (radio frequency identification) has been used experimentally for this purpose in Japan. Small children were given tiny emitters to wear in their clothing and scanners installed along their route to and from school detected the chips (similar to the ones used in dogs) as they passed by. If the children went out of area, a warning was immediately sounded.

With the advances that are being made in RFID technology, it might werll provide an effective means of protecting children in the terrible world we are living in.:cool:

Gauss

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Wouldn't need one, not in the habit of losing my children.

So I assume your children are within your eyesight 24/7?

Any child can get lost or fall down a ditch somewhere or get lost on a school trip etc.

The GPS tracker could save your children's lives.

Gauss

Gauss wrote: »

So I assume your children are within your eyesight 24/7?

Any child can get lost or fall down a ditch somewhere or get lost on a school trip etc.

The GPS tracker could save your children's lives.

Good sales pitch :pac:, still don't need one.

tdv123

No, there children not pigeons. If you can't look after your child properly don't have one.

opti0nal

Gauss wrote: »

The GPS tracker could save your children's lives.

Does it look like this?

Gauss

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Gauss wrote: »

So I assume your children are within your eyesight 24/7?

Any child can get lost or fall down a ditch somewhere or get lost on a school trip etc.

The GPS tracker could save your children's lives.

Good sales pitch :pac:, still don't need one.

Who says you need one, they clearly could offer value to concerned parents.

opti0nal

Gauss wrote: »

Who says you need one, they clearly could offer value to concerned parents.

So, how big are they, how much do they cost, what's the monthly rate?

Is there insurance against damage caused during play? Any risk from the radio signal transmitting back to the monitoring station, or any chance of the device snagging a child in a fence or a tree? Will emergency services be able to remove them?

Details please.

delad

opti0nal wrote: »

So, how big are they, how much do they cost, what's the monthly rate?

Is there insurance against damage caused during play? Any risk from the radio signal transmitting back to the monitoring station, or any chance of the device snagging a child in a fence or a tree? Will emergency services be able to remove them?

Details please.

they're tiny, cost 1c and no monthly rate

opti0nal

delad wrote: »

they're tiny, cost 1c and no monthly rate

Link please.

Madam_X

opti0nal wrote: »

Who was more upset, you or him?

Maybe it's time to let go a bit.

He's 12 and she had no idea where he was for a few hours - there is nothing irrational about her worries...

Overflow wrote: »

But what if ? Are you a parent ?

Why would you have to be a parent to consider this such a vital development? It IS extremely rare - is it healthy to instil such fear in a child?
I think it would be a good idea to equip the kid if they're going somewhere, or if they're in a crowded place like a department store, but an internal chip? Bridge too far IMO.

iguana

What a creepy idea. How about we just genetically engineer the species so that humans gestate for 974 weeks. Then they could be born at what would have been their 18th birthday. Their mothers will always know where they are if they are in her womb!

Or on the other hand we could accept that children are children for a reason and a huge part of that reason is to learn how to grow into independent adults and part of that is learning how to navigate what can on occasion be a dangerous world. Because the simple fact of the matter is that, proportionally, more adults are victims of violent crimes than children and growing their knowledge, street-wisdom and independence as children certainly plays a role in protecting them as adults.

Stranger abductions are extremely rare. Someone mentioned Sarah Payne up thread. That was undeniably a tragedy but if in a kingdom of over 60 million people you have to go back 12 years for an example it just goes to show exactly how rare an occurrence it is. There are things in this world we have to protect our children from and one of those things is our own instinct to mollycoddle them and prevent their development into well rounded adults.

Vicar in a tutu

Nothing wrong with a necklace or bracelet with a tracking device, or a pair of runners imho, better to be safe than sorry, I'd have no problem if my younger relatives wore one, too many sick ****s out there. Obviously I wouldnt agree with wearing them into their teens. Just when they're young and defenseless.

noxqs

Oh I know. Why dont we put a GPS on everyone and mount a video camera in their forehead with a direct feed to the police. This way all crime will either be documented OR we will find who did any crime, instantly!!!

Anyone not carrying said devices are assumed guilty of a crime, with mandatory sentencing of 10 years in prison. Removal of the device will trigger an alarm and a pre-emptive sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted possible crime.

Also microphones on everyone so we can find people who may speak against this system, and control of the media, and this has to be written into the constitution as well.

Also lets monitor all the internet for pedos and terrorists, and uh all SMS messages and email, because terrorists and pedos use this!!

And so on and so forth.. Jesus christ people 1984, Animal Farm etc wasn't instruction manuals for how to run a society..

Bad things happen all the time, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Gauss

noxqs wrote: »

Oh I know. Why dont we put a GPS on everyone and mount a video camera in their forehead with a direct feed to the police. This way all crime will either be documented OR we will find who did any crime, instantly!!!

Anyone not carrying said devices are assumed guilty of a crime, with mandatory sentencing of 10 years in prison. Removal of the device will trigger an alarm and a pre-emptive sentence of 10 years in prison for attempted possible crime.

Also microphones on everyone so we can find people who may speak against this system, and control of the media, and this has to be written into the constitution as well.

Also lets monitor all the internet for pedos and terrorists, and uh all SMS messages and email, because terrorists and pedos use this!!

And so on and so forth.. Jesus christ people 1984, Animal Farm etc wasn't instruction manuals for how to run a society..

Bad things happen all the time, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Yea there is......use a GPS device, that could prevent or foil potential absuctions.

Why not just get rid of seat belts, they won't always save your life.

noxqs

How many kids gets abducted by NON family members ?

Almost none?

Ever heard of rational thought and proportionality? It would cost a fortune for no perceivable benefit. Not to mention removing a tracking device thats outside the body is trivial, and surely an abductor would remove this.

A subcutaneous tracking device wont work unless you invent magic batteries that doesnt exist. Pacemakers are still charged from external sources regularly.

Read Freakonomics for a bit of perspective on these kind of things.

opti0nal

Gauss wrote: »

Yea there is......use a GPS device, that could prevent or foil potential absuctions.

Link please, so we can see what one looks like and how it works?

marco_polo

Would work fine until the tabloids runs a story about a child getting kidnapped as a result of one of these devices getting hacked.

Queue mass hysteria to get rid of the GPS trackers, until another child not wearing one goes missing......

And wash, rinse, repeat.

Vicar in a tutu

noxqs wrote: »

Bad things happen all the time, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Very flippant thing to say when were discussing the lives of young children, I really dont see any harm in a young child with a tracking device in their runners or whatever, if it means there's a chance he / she could be found before its too late if abducted then why not?

ferret1

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noxqs

Vicar in a tutu wrote: »

Very flippant thing to say when were discussing the lives of young children, I really dont see any harm in a young child with a tracking device in their runners or whatever, if it means there's a chance he / she could be found before its too late if abducted then why not?

You didn't read my posts or didn't understand the message in them.

Just because its a young child and its emotional, it doesn't mean we should apply hundreds of millions of GPS tracking devices on kids, for the off chance they may get abducted. It doesn't make sense.