GPS Locator for Children

Aushiker · Post by **Aushiker** » 09 February 05 10:54 am

Hi

Some totally off-topic trivia to read if you are bored .... http://www.wherifywireless.com/prod_watches.htm

Regards
Andrew

Lt. Sniper · Post by **Lt. Sniper** » 09 February 05 11:28 am

That is just wrong...

I can see how it would be useful for kids with mental illness that tend to wonder off etc.., but for reasons other then that its wrong.

Hounddog · Post by **Hounddog** » 09 February 05 1:01 pm

It's a scary thought. There are, so called, parents out there who would actually want to rely on such a thing.

Only in America....I hope, it's only wishful thinking by the manufacturers

Mind Socket · Post by **Mind Socket** » 09 February 05 1:41 pm

Parenting (for some) in a modern age ...

Cable TV - check
Internet w/ filter (doesn't actually work properly) - check
McDonalds - check
GPS locator - check

Then off to the pub for a whinge about the local hooligans who haven't been brought up properly.

Edit: Not to say that it wouldn't have practical uses. I'm just referring to abuses above.

Udderchaos · Post by **Udderchaos** » 09 February 05 1:47 pm

as the parents of an autistic child who is an escape and dissapear artist this would be a god sent for us...

wouldnt work to good inside though would it

Dooghan · Post by **Dooghan** » 09 February 05 8:29 pm

I bet the perents of Daniel, the kid on the Sunshine Coast that got taken wish he had one. I would have if it was one of my kids that got taken.

Dooghan

Lt. Sniper · Post by **Lt. Sniper** » 09 February 05 8:44 pm

Unfortunately Daniels story is a sad one but there is a point that you reach too much prevention. It becomes Ã‚â€œWhat if this, what if that?Ã‚â€

xf king · Post by **xf king** » 09 February 05 9:25 pm

I dont know what kids will think of thier parents in the future. They will ba able to track their every movement from metre to metre.. This is a silly idea that invades privacy. Parents should be trusting their kids not stalking and following them around all day long.

Dooghan · Post by **Dooghan** » 09 February 05 9:48 pm

I was thinking more from a kid point of view at the time. If a kid was taken by someone, then the kid could call for help with it. The person may not realise at the time that it is more them a watch. But as a parent wanting to check up on they child every 5 mins.......NO. That is not what I would want it for and I would not do it. As for Andrew&leese case it would be an excellent device

Dooghan

Zytheran · Post by **Zytheran** » 09 February 05 11:17 pm

This has already been discussed on the RISKS newsgroup as nearly all were concerned by this technology. Things that spring to mind are:
1 Trusting it will always work without knowing how often GPS fails to work. Getting worried over the errors and then suffering from the 'boy who cried wolf ' syndrome. How long would parents take before it wasn't trusted.
2 If your kid was kidnapped this device would be recognised and discarded.
3 Looks like the word 'trust' might not appear in your kids thoughts much.
4 Probably wont work inside malls, movie theatres, etc.
5 Easy to fool, kid lends it to friend when they want to nick off for a time.
6 You would want the security incredibly tight becuase if the wrong people got access to where Johny is you can imagine how this can used. Because this can be accessed from home by parents you already have security issues with using the public internet.
7 You can easily buy a unit and use it to track a non-child with all the inherant risks. Most people have a bit of trouble cobbling together a GPS and mobile phone, this device makes it off the shelf simplicity.
8 It can also be used to track things apart from people with all the inherant criminal uses.

In summary most people,thought the risks and harm outweighed the benefits.For those with mental problems, dementia and other all-the-time problems it might be useful but there are very serious risks with the technology.

Udderchaos · Post by **Udderchaos** » 10 February 05 9:20 am

Unfortunatly for us, our child has Zero road sense and activly tries to wander off by himself, when we go caching we MUST never take our eyes off him as he doesnt understand cause & effect. IE if i jump off this cliff I will die.

If these things get cheaper I will buy one.

Mind Socket · Post by **Mind Socket** » 10 February 05 9:28 am

I'm not sure this product will work in Australia, it uses infrastructure that I don't believe exists here (PCS wireless). It's certainly feasible to have an equivalent system (using GSM or CDMA). People track their expensive cars with the same technology, and I was thinking of building something simpler, but similar myself (send sms to car, car sends sms back indicating last known position from built in GPSr).

- Rog

Mind Socket · Post by **Mind Socket** » 10 February 05 9:37 am

Did anyone else see the irony in one of their navigation items ... "GPS universal locator"?

Actually, the greater irony is that it may not even work outside the US, let alone beyond planet Earth.

- R

Lt. Sniper · Post by **Lt. Sniper** » 10 February 05 11:43 am

I have looked into it before (was part of a Car tracker unit for my car I was making my self), Vodaphone has special plans for this kind of thing.

Telstra also had a service but it was pricey $$$, I didnt look into Optus.

Team Red Devil · Post by **Team Red Devil** » 08 March 05 9:53 pm

Most people would say its overkill by protective parents. But as a parent of a particularly pretty, chatty, friendly little girl- she is the kind of child that would be a target (and an easy one) for strangers. Without me ripping my eyes out, connecting them with cords and glueing them to my daughter 24/7- I cannot physically keep a close watch on her. She is totally aware of stranger danger, but that doesn't stop her from talking to people when we're out and about, or her telling them her name- (she's been told a hundred times not to do it-but she's 7-what can you do??) I always worry that someone may lure her away from us. I personally know of two children who were lured away from their parents long enough for someone to grab them and take off- they were only located because it was a small town (two separate incidents- three days apart) and people remembered the car- and the children. It was later found out the guy who'd taken them had committed similar crimes before, and was a serial paedophile. Would I have wanted my child to be wearing some kind of item to make them easier to find if this fruitcake had taken them? HELL YES. No doubt. Whether its via a GPS, or some other tracking device- in this day and age- I feel its necessary. <br>
<br>
Marie