Should Parents Use GPS Tracking on their Kids?

Finding the way to the closest Walmart. Sending your location to a friend. Looking up good Italian restaurants within a walking distance. While we often take these things for granted in the 21st century, these only became possible recently with the rapid development of GPS tracking and mobile technology. The technological innovations made our lives much more convenient, but all these benefits came with a cost; children became highly vulnerable to more predators online and offline. To ensure their children’s safety in a more vulnerable setting, more and more parents are starting to use GPS tracking on their kids’ phones, heating the debate on children’s privacy. So should parent use GPS tracking on their kids? It depends. Would be the most reasonable answer to that question. Saying yes to no for parents of kids of all ages and environments would not make sense. While using GPS tracking for a kid who’s a sophomore in high school would be a little bit too overprotective, doing the same for a kid who’s in elementary school living in a less safe neighborhood might be a good idea. At the end of the day, while extreme measures shouldn’t be taken, overprotecting your children is probably better than “underprotecting” them and not caring about their safety. But before you use GPS tracking, be sure to check with your children and make sure that they feel comfortable with it. If they don’t seem too excited about the idea at first, be sure to logically explain why you might be worried about their safety and why using GPS tracking on their phones or other devices could solve the problem. Now, the next question arises - which GPS tracking app should you use to ensure your children’s safety? As explained in detail in the image below, these are the three most popular GPS tracking apps used to track location of your children or their phones. If you are looking for an app that has been specifically designed for parents who want to protect their children, either Life360 or Kidguard might be the best option for you. rnBut the most important question is, as always, what’s best fit for your family. Talk to your children, listen to their thoughts with an open mind, and make sure you understand each other. For information on how to protect your child both online and offline, check out the Parent’s Survival Guide to Online Safety.