I Want to Track My 8 Year Old Child.. Help Me.

[HappyDude20]

Good morning,

So, I’ll get straight into it:

I have an 8 year old that is in elementary school and we purchased an iPhone SE for her a year ago after everyone in the family and extended family already had iPhones and she wanted to play Angry Birds and Fortnite, among other reasons like wanting to call us whenever we were at work.

She would take her iPhone during the start of the school year and we notice about a handful of students in her class also had smartphones stuffed in their backpacks. Her phone and also her classmates, would be in silent but it really does take just one kid to sneak out their phone during recess for the rest to come together and sneak in a game of Angry Birds. I recall being at the school a few months back during that Presidential Alert and it freaked the teacher out because the school policy is no cell phones so the policy is if a phone rings the student cannot get it back unless the parent visit the school to retrieve it.

I’ve seen in the past two years a few simple smartphones catered specifically for kids; such as connected phones that have gps and the ability to make calls to 5 pre-selected people, presumably the parents, grandparents and emergency contacts. Essentially a smartphone dumbed down to the pure essentials.

I keep thinking about that TILE product but I’m sure they now have different variations. THIS WOULD NOT BE A SECRET TOWARDS MY KID. SHE WOULD BE FULLY AWARE IF I IMPLEMENTED THIS.

This whole thing came about when people on my FaceBook friends list keep sharing missing child photos and I started to hyperventilate. Legitimately hyperventilate. I also saw that Halley Berry film Kidnap which reduced my ability to sleep following nights. I told my daughter how she felt about if I placed a tracker in her backpack to which she replied, ‘why would kidnappers take my backpack as well?’

So then that made me think about if a solution exists for her shoe, or a bracelet. Series 3 or 4 Apple Watch is obviously a solution but I don’t think my young one needs that.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Just delete Facebook. You’ll stop hyperventilating.

 

[HappyDude20]

Just delete Facebook. You’ll stop hyperventilating.

Yeah, no. Terrible excuse if it ever happens to my kid.

 

[mobilehaathi]

I think your out of control anxiety is a more pressing concern.

But why wouldn’t these hypothetical kidnappers ditch any tracking device anyway? Best not to let her out of her room.

 

[HappyDude20]

I think your out of control anxiety is a more pressing concern.

But why wouldn’t these hypothetical kidnappers ditch any tracking device anyway? Best not to let her out of her room.

I think this is a real concern. I’m an adult and my folks like knowing where I’m at, at the very least check in from time to time considering they know I travel around for work a lot. I lost my phone once for 7 days and didn’t bother to replace it cause I was connected to Facebook messenger during that time and I later found out my folks (who don’t have social media) called hospitals and police stations asking where I could be cause I didn’t check in with them that particular week.

Obviously some adults check in less frequently with their folks but for others it’s much more frequent. The point is, when something doesn’t feel right people begin to wonder and are concerned and we live in a time where the whereabouts of my own child are a huge concern, especially when the news reports the local shopping mall was the scene where a kid was lured by some creep less than 2 weeks ago.

 

[mobilehaathi]

I think this is a real concern. I’m an adult and my folks like knowing where I’m at, at the very least check in from time to time considering they know I travel around for work a lot. I lost my phone once for 7 days and didn’t bother to replace it cause I was connected to Facebook messenger during that time and I later found out my folks (who don’t have social media) called hospitals and police stations asking where I could be cause I didn’t check in with them that particular week.

Obviously some adults check in less frequently with their folks but for others it’s much more frequent. The point is, when something doesn’t feel right people begin to wonder and are concerned and we live in a time where the whereabouts of my own child are a huge concern, especially when the news reports the local shopping mall was the scene where a kid was lured by some creep less than 2 weeks ago.

It’s a scary scary world. Good luck.

 

[HappyDude20]

It’s a scary scary world. Good luck.

Thank you for not contributing.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Could you try Find my Friends? I haven't used it before, couldn't tell you if it does what you need, and have no idea how conspicuous it is, but hey... hopefully it’ll help in some way:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201493

I’m not a parent but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have peace of mind about where your kids are. Surprised with some of the responses so far.

 

[velocityg4]

You mentioned a bracelet. You could get a Paw Tracker and put it on a bracelet, anklet, necklace or collar.

Anyways it is small and can be hooked to things. So you could put it on a keychain. There might be smaller models. Nike running shoes have a pocket under the sole for their running tracker. Perhaps a GPS would fit in the compartment.

Outside children or pet products. Perhaps there is something smaller. Such as a key finder or something. It doesn’t have to be for kids. Just a GPS tracker.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

You can use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Cellphone-An...sr=8-3&keywords=gps+tracker+bracelet+for+kids

But I'm sure a real smart kidnapper would make the kid take it off right away.

You could put this:

https://get.spytec.com/gl300-buy-no...F6HrLJA-kX_d7ib4DgDGBt9pv7w-9ODkaAlbWEALw_wcB


in her pocket.

Or she could wear this necklace:

https://www.amazon.com/Samber-Posit...5&keywords=gps+tracker+bracelet+for+kids&th=1

 

[samadulator]

Good morning,

So, I’ll get straight into it:

I have an 8 year old that is in elementary school and we purchased an iPhone SE for her a year ago after everyone in the family and extended family already had iPhones and she wanted to play Angry Birds and Fortnite, among other reasons like wanting to call us whenever we were at work.

She would take her iPhone during the start of the school year and we notice about a handful of students in her class also had smartphones stuffed in their backpacks. Her phone and also her classmates, would be in silent but it really does take just one kid to sneak out their phone during recess for the rest to come together and sneak in a game of Angry Birds. I recall being at the school a few months back during that Presidential Alert and it freaked the teacher out because the school policy is no cell phones so the policy is if a phone rings the student cannot get it back unless the parent visit the school to retrieve it.

I’ve seen in the past two years a few simple smartphones catered specifically for kids; such as connected phones that have gps and the ability to make calls to 5 pre-selected people, presumably the parents, grandparents and emergency contacts. Essentially a smartphone dumbed down to the pure essentials.

I keep thinking about that TILE product but I’m sure they now have different variations. THIS WOULD NOT BE A SECRET TOWARDS MY KID. SHE WOULD BE FULLY AWARE IF I IMPLEMENTED THIS.

This whole thing came about when people on my FaceBook friends list keep sharing missing child photos and I started to hyperventilate. Legitimately hyperventilate. I also saw that Halley Berry film Kidnap which reduced my ability to sleep following nights. I told my daughter how she felt about if I placed a tracker in her backpack to which she replied, ‘why would kidnappers take my backpack as well?’

So then that made me think about if a solution exists for her shoe, or a bracelet. Series 3 or 4 Apple Watch is obviously a solution but I don’t think my young one needs that.

Our son has neurodevelopmental disabilities, is nonverbal, and is a runner. We use Jiobit, a small GPS and cellular tracker, that has different tamper-resistant ways to attach it to his clothes. The device is not visible under his clothes and we put it in a place where he doesn't feel it so he doesn't mess with it.

With the associated app, we can mark "safe zones" like home and his school. The second he leaves the geofence around one of these places, both my wife and I get push notifications on our devices and we can see where the tracker is on a map in near-realtime. We've also added his teacher's device to his "Care Team" so that when he's near her he's automatically considered "safe" (we've fully vetted the teacher and are comfortable with this).

We nearly lost our son last summer on a trip to a lake, and we realized that we needed some solution to keep him safe.

We pay $9 / month and paid $99 for the device. Well worth it. Read about it at www.jiobit.com.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Thank you for not contributing.

No need to be so sarcastic: @mobilehaathi has made what I think is a relevant point, which is his response to what he may consider as an-overreaction (on your part) to perceived environment defined by fear.

Personally, I think your post, and tone excessive. If you see ghosts, ghouls, terrorists, kidnappers, and horrors behind every door, well, then you may find them. However, I (personally) think it healthier to teach children not to be afraid to explore (boundaries, customs, attitudes, areas).....

Christ - that verb alone - "I want to track my child" would frighten the life out of me.

No, even if I could, I would not help you. Not in the light of the way you have expressed your concerns.

 

[0388631]

GPS chip injection?

 

[HappyDude20]

I’m not a parent but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have peace of mind about where your kids are. Surprised with some of the responses so far.

Thank you, and those replies were from only 1 individual so it’s all good.

You mentioned a bracelet. You could get a Paw Tracker and put it on a bracelet, anklet, necklace or collar.

Anyways it is small and can be hooked to things. So you could put it on a keychain. There might be smaller models. Nike running shoes have a pocket under the sole for their running tracker. Perhaps a GPS would fit in the compartment.

Outside children or pet products. Perhaps there is something smaller. Such as a key finder or something. It doesn’t have to be for kids. Just a GPS tracker.

I was thinking the same thing and I think ‘Tile’ does this but a poster down below mentioned a product named JioBit which seems to be the perfect solution.

You can use this:

Or she could wear this necklace:

https://www.amazon.com/Samber-Positioning-Anti-Lost-Fashionable-Accessories/dp/B075L2T27S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1544574228&sr=8-5&keywords=gps+tracker+bracelet+for+kids&th=1

This is awesome. I didn’t know this such a product even existed. Perhaps for my fiancé in the future...muah-ha-ha. Jk, jk.

Our son has neurodevelopmental disabilities, is nonverbal, and is a runner. We use Jiobit, a small GPS and cellular tracker, that has different tamper-resistant ways to attach it to his clothes. The device is not visible under his clothes and we put it in a place where he doesn't feel it so he doesn't mess with it.

With the associated app, we can mark "safe zones" like home and his school. The second he leaves the geofence around one of these places, both my wife and I get push notifications on our devices and we can see where the tracker is on a map in near-realtime. We've also added his teacher's device to his "Care Team" so that when he's near her he's automatically considered "safe" (we've fully vetted the teacher and are comfortable with this).

We nearly lost our son last summer on a trip to a lake, and we realized that we needed some solution to keep him safe.

We pay $9 / month and paid $99 for the device. Well worth it. Read about it at www.jiobit.com.

This is absolutely wonderful and seems like the perfect solution the original question I posed. No complaints from my end on this product. Just researched them and am almost ready to purchase this. I’ll probably watch a few YouTube reviews on it but all in all it seems wonderful. My biggest concern is how often I need to recharge or replace the batteries, but the waterproof for up to 20 minutes thing is incredible as well. My girl is almost never near water but just knowing something so small can be so reliable is music to my ears.

No need to be so sarcastic: @mobilehaathi has made what I think is a relevant point, which is his response to what he may consider as an-overreaction (on your part) to perceived environment defined by fear.

Personally, I think your post, and tone excessive. If you see ghosts, ghouls, terrorists, kidnappers, and horrors behind every door, well, then you may find them. However, I (personally) think it healthier to teach children not to be afraid to explore (boundaries, customs, attitudes, areas).....

Christ - that verb alone - "I want to track my child" would frighten the life out of me.

No, even if I could, I would not help you. Not in the light of the way you have expressed your concerns.

Just taking precautions.

As for the sarcasm; tonality online is really difficult to convey, but whatever.

Finally, the “I want to Track my child” line was purely to get people into this thread and contribute to the original question posed. It was click-baity.

GPS chip injection?

Okay, now I’m getting turned on.

 

[Tech198]

Tracking your own kid ? .. Restrictions would be better, not tracking....

People have their own uses as will.. as long as i as their not smart enough to get round it, that's enough. I guess these days anyone can find info how they an bypass, but tracking ? just seems intrusive for someone who your suppose to be trusting.


Wouldn't be good for the kid to eventually find out, and they will when something goes astray.

 

[Ntombi]

I think wanting to know where your 8-year-old is isn’t unreasonable, but the heightened anxiety you seem to feel around every missing child is something you should probably address fairly soon. She won’t be eight forever, and she’ll soon begin to need more independence and earned trust for her psychological health and ability to function in the world.

I’m not trying to be hurtful, or dismissive of your fears, but your reactions really do seem OTT.

The fact that you’re seriously considering the same system as parents of a special needs, nonverbal child with a history of running to track your (seemingly) average 8-year-old should raise a few red flags.

Good luck.

BTW, the school/teachers shouldn’t have counted the presidential alert/amber alert against the kids; they likely weren’t using the phones, and could have had them on silent and the alerts still would have disrupted class. Not fair!

 

[HappyDude20]

Tracking your own kid ? .. Restrictions would be better, not tracking....

People have their own uses as will.. as long as i as their not smart enough to get round it, that's enough. I guess these days anyone can find info how they an bypass, but tracking ? just seems intrusive for someone who your suppose to be trusting.


Wouldn't be good for the kid to eventually find out, and they will when something goes astray.

Did you read my original post where I mentioned in all caps that my child would be fully aware of my tracking their location for their safety?

I think wanting to know where your 8-year-old is isn’t unreasonable, but the heightened anxiety you seem to feel around every missing child is something you should probably address fairly soon. She won’t be eight forever, and she’ll soon begin to need more independence and earned trust for her psychological health and ability to function in the world.

I’m not trying to be hurtful, or dismissive of your fears, but your reactions really do seem OTT.

The fact that you’re seriously considering the same system as parents of a special needs, nonverbal child with a history of running to track your (seemingly) average 8-year-old should raise a few red flags.

Good luck.

BTW, the school/teachers shouldn’t have counted the presidential alert/amber alert against the kids; they likely weren’t using the phones, and could have had them on silent and the alerts still would have disrupted class. Not fair!

I do not disagree with your post at all. Thank you for the insight.

 

[AngerDanger]

A surprising lack of empathy and abundance of assuming the worst intentions in this thread. A parent wants to know where their eight-year-old is so they aren't abducted. Long post, occasional all caps, and tone aside, that's all there is to this.

@Scepticalscribe, the sarcastic post you mentioned was in reply to an equally sarcastic dismissal of the OP's fears that his child might end up as the missing children in photographs do. Hyperventilating over that seems a far more appropriately proportioned response than being frightened to death of the word "track" in this context.

@Tech198, I assume the the kid will "eventually" find out when their parent tells them like the first post says.

I was initially very off put by this thread because of the tone, but long-term, that kid is going to leave the GPS/phone with a friend whenever she wants to get up to standard teenage disobedience. And when she doesn't, it'll be peace of mind knowing her last location in case of an emergency.

Or when his daughter hits a certain age, the OP can just shut it off. It'll take all of two seconds in iOS Settings.

 

[jtara]

and it freaked the teacher out because the school policy is no cell phones

I think I would have a problem with that policy. As an adult, I do not go ANYWHERE (not even down the hall to the laundry, or to take the trash down to the garage) without my phone. I am not at all obsessive about checking it, but I do want it on my person at all times.

With all the school shootings, etc. I think it is better if EVERY kid has a phone - that much more opportunity to get the word out of a "situation".

BTW, the school/teachers shouldn’t have counted the presidential alert/amber alert against the kids; they likely weren’t using the phones, and could have had them on silent and the alerts still would have disrupted class. Not fair!

Yet... rules is rules, and should be enforced uniformly. Should the phones discovered accidentally due to the alert be excused under some sort of technical "rules of evidence"?

I think you should work to repeal the rule. I don't think I would agree even with having to deposit the phones in some lockbox either in a central place or in the classroom. They don't do any good locked in a box. And, really, it's a good "teaching opportunity" to get kids to use phones responsibly. But it's a lot easier to make a "no phones" rule.

The tracking devices ideas are excellent. All reasonable prices for both device and service.

Either way - phone or tracker, if something horrible DOES happen (which might just be the kid wandering off and getting lost), then regardless of how much tracking the parent chooses to be privy too, now there is a record that can be made available to law enforcement.

BTW, if you do get this restriction repealed you can lock the phone down using Apple Configurator 2. You can decide what your child can do with the phone at a pretty fine grain. It's also useful for small companies or schools, though bigger companies/schools can have similar functionality for enrolled devices using a central server. (i.e. without having to plug the device into a USB port.)

I was a "free range kid", but then most kids were in the 60's and 70's. Almost everybody walked to school. While I was driven to school in First Grade (Lutheran school - Detroit schools had a long strike, and my (much older) sister was a teacher and knew it would be long - so I think my father bartered painting and handyman work for tuition) pretty sure I walked myself to school from 2nd grade on. I took busses all over Detroit pursuing various interests, going to the central library, going to ham radio stores when I was older, etc. I survived it. From my personal experience, I highly recommend it as opposed to "helicoptering".

But still, as I don't want to go anywhere without my phone today, why would anybody want their kid to without one? For no other reason than THERE AREN'T ANY PAY PHONES and THERE AREN'T ANY PUBLIC POLICE AND FIRE CALL BOXES any more. Yup, we had em' every couple of blocks on the mains streets!

They taught us in school from the first grade in case of fire to go to the call box, pull the lever, and wait for the fire truck to show up and give them directions. Occasionally, you'd hear of a kid pulling a prank, and stories about getting marked with dye, which I think was just a rumor to keep kids from pulling pranks, which didn't really happen very often.

Amazing - the Bart Simpsons could have pulled the lever any time they wanted, and used a stick to avoid the dye pack that probably wasn't really there. But... by and large they didn't. You see, in order to learn responsibility - you have to be given some.

 

[Banglazed]

Talk to him about what your plans and why you would like to track him for his safety.

I would recommend any/few/all of these:

1. Check with your wireless provider since most major providers would have some sort of family tracking
2. Enable Find My iPhone if using the same iCloud account
3. Enable Find My Friends if using a different iCloud account (enable Share My Location and have it Share Indefinitely)
4. Select your contact detail in his phone and tap Share My Location and set it Share Indefinitely.
5. Enable restriction to prevent any tampering of any of these apps or hinder location services.
6. Research on other third party apps for family tracking

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Could you try Find my Friends? I haven't used it before, couldn't tell you if it does what you need, and have no idea how conspicuous it is, but hey... hopefully it’ll help in some way:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201493

I’m not a parent but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have peace of mind about where your kids are. Surprised with some of the responses so far.

This. Why OP is ignoring it, is weird.

It is build into the phone (Or was, perhaps it is a simple app download from the App Store now), but does exactly what OP wants. In fact, using iCloud Family control, he will also be able to control his daughters phone usage to a much greater extent than what he likely does now.

 

[Ploki]

Wasn't there a black mirror episode about this

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

Makes me wonder how many of us made it to adulthood in an age where cell phones didn't exist. I would have to say start with education and talk to your child. Teach them about responsibility, not talking to strangers, being aware of those around them, etc. Much more useful than worrying about their daily life without a phone or tracking device.

I would assume an eight year old is taken to school, picked up, and supervised during the day. The chances of abduction would be minimal at best but I concede not impossible.

Worse case scenario, if your child were taken, the ability to monitor their whereabouts is not going to defend against harm. It would still take time for you or law enforcement to arrive.

Talking to your child and educating them about the potential harms in this world would be a much better strategy in my opinion. Again educating and preparing your child would seem to be much more helpful.

I have two grandchildren 11 and 12. They have been involved in martial arts since they were 5. It has helped them immensely. They notice things and people around them and we talk about it often. They know what to do in an emergency, how to deal with a stranger, and have a much better chance of staying out of harms way as opposed to a child wearing a tracking device.

 

[jtara]

Could you try Find my Friends?

The school doesn't allow students to bring phones.

This. Why OP is ignoring it, is weird.

It is build into the phone

The school doesn't allow students to bring phones.

I would recommend any/few/all of these:

1. Check with your wireless provider since most major providers would have some sort of family tracking
2. Enable Find My iPhone if using the same iCloud account
3. Enable Find My Friends if using a different iCloud account (enable Share My Location and have it Share Indefinitely)
4. Select your contact detail in his phone and tap Share My Location and set it Share Indefinitely.
5. Enable restriction to prevent any tampering of any of these apps or hinder location services.
6. Research on other third party apps for family tracking

The school doesn't allow students to bring phones.

GOOD LORD, did anybody actually read the original post? HappyDude had to go in to a meeting before his daughter (proof that some people didn't read the post, as they referred to her as his "son") could go back to school, because she broke the rule and brought a cell phone to school.

Makes me wonder how many of us made it to adulthood in an age where cell phones didn't exist.

For one, there were these things call pay phones. You see, you had your kids carry these things called quarters...xxxxx I mean dimes.

I would assume an eight year old is taken to school, picked up, and supervised during the day.

The kid is 8 now. They'll be 9 in a year, and 10 in 2. I assume dad is planning for the future, when he has to let go a bit.

No, not everybody "helicopter's" their kids. As strange as it seems today, I walked to school from grade 2 on, and so did most of the other kids. We'd go "mom, I'm going to the park", "ok, dinner's at 7!" In some places, now, that can get you sent to the slammer!

I was in "safety patrol". I got an orange "safety belt" and had an assigned corner near my house. Kids and traffic had to stop when I said so. And they did. I got to go in to first period late and leave last period early. There was hot cocoa waiting in the "patrol room" on cold winter days.

There were adult crossing guards at the busy corner right next to the school. Other corners were guarded by kids.

OMG they would arrest the whole school board if anybody did that today!

 

[HappyDude20]

Yes, I don’t imagine tracking my little girl when she becomes a teenager and I know I gotta ‘cut the ambilical cord’ at one point too.

However, one of her schoolmates rides her bike or scooter to and from her home and she got hit by a car crossing the street. This little girl will sometimes come over so they can play instead of her having to bike or scooter from school and the girls parents pick her up from our house. I found out that the day this little girl got hit by a car that the little girl still continued her bike ride to school and called her parents from the schools office and the parents asked how hurt she was to which the little responded she had just a few scrapes and the parents told her to stay in class and they would see the injuries not until the evening when the parents got home from work.

People parent very differently and when I heard this story from the little girl I couldn’t help but try to coerce the mother to tell me what happened that day and their stories almost pretty much lined up. If anything remotely close occurred like that with my little girl I would’ve instantly left whatever meeting or lunch I was in and RUSHED to my little girl no matter what. Sadly, I learned the mother couldn’t leave work or she would’ve been fired. And admittedly the mother doesn’t live in the nicest part of town. I honestly think the little girl comes over at least once a week for food, but that’s a whole different topic. If work threatened me with getting fired for seeing my little girl, especially after any sort of emergency, I would gladly flip them off and walk away from said business.