So now that our kids are a bit older (9 and 6) we're looking for a way to give them more freedom/responsibility to roam around more by themselves, but in a way that we can still keep track of them if need be, and have a way for them to contact us. I don't want to just give them a smart phone, as I don't want them having access to the internet, social media, games, apps etc. I basically just want something that works as a GPS tracker and a basic phone.
Looking online I found these kids watches from Gabb and Spacetalk, that basically do this (although Gabb is only US based).
Any parents here have experience with devices like this? Or any other suggestions (since these are somewhat pricey)?
If you are in the Apple ecosystem, you could give then phones and parental controls can let you basicall disable everything but the “find my friends” and you and wife as contacts.
May be able to do something similar with the new Apple watches too?
If you are in the Apple ecosystem, you could give then phones and parental controls can let you basicall disable everything but the “find my friends” and you and wife as contacts.
May be able to do something similar with the new Apple watches too?
Hmm not a bad idea, as I do have an old iPhone that I keep around as a backup. Will investigate, thanks.
I assume the plan here is to have your kid hate you so you spend the rest of your life being reminded that not only did you never trust them but you tagged them like an effing animal so you could secretly monitor their movements?
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I assume the plan here is to have your kid hate you so you spend the rest of your life being reminded that not only did you never trust them but you tagged them like an effing animal so you could secretly monitor their movements?
Give them a basic flip phone to use in case of emergency, but leave it at that.
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Do your want your kids to be able to contact you and you be able to contact them?
Or
Do you want to be able to spy on them
Or if they are murdered by hobos do you want to find the killers.
Outside of the first case I don’t see any benefit. So the GPS portion of the phone seems unnecessary along with any tracking software. I would just find the cheapest android phones you can and uninstall everything. You can check if they are still alive and they can call if they need something.
Why not just give the kid a basic phone or dumb phone without the bells and whistles like a blackberry or something?
Toss an air tag into the case if the phone doesn't have some form of "find my friends" or similar feature.
AirTags are specifically designed to prevent tracking people. First, the person's iPhone will begin alerting that a foreign AirTag is following you, followed by an annoying audible alert (which you can technically disable).
Giving them an iPhone with parental controls turned on and 'Find My' is probably the best solution here.
We are there. We signed them up for cell phones (using our old phones) with call and text only on it. They just have to text us when they get where they are going and to text us if they are going anywhere else.
Last edited by Knut; 08-07-2022 at 01:25 AM.
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I assume the plan here is to have your kid hate you so you spend the rest of your life being reminded that not only did you never trust them but you tagged them like an effing animal so you could secretly monitor their movements?
I guess I can see thinking that way at some point in my life. But I've had life360 on phones for my 14&16 yo boys for a couple years, and we all see where we all are, and nobody seems to have any issues with it. I can't think of any places they'd go that I've have an issue with, so not really anything to do with trust. Just nice to know where they are if I haven't heard from them in a while. It seems less intrusive checking in with them constantly. It's nice to be able to quickly glance that they made it where they were going ok, or where they are on the golf course, or on the lake if they take the bass boat by themselves. They also like to know where I am if they're going to need me for something. I just see it as being able to be more hands off and relaxed as a parent when we all know where we are. I can see turning it off as they get older, but for younger kids it just seems nice for everyone.
We are there. We signed them up for cell phones (using our old phones) with call and text only on it. They just have to test us when they get where they are going and to text us if they are going anywhere else.
Giving them the responsibility is exactly how to handle this.
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I went through this a couple of years and finally settled on used iphones. Parents have control on what they can access and they get use to using a phone at an early age. After a couple of years the phones are an after thought.
Just for some context here, as a foster parent I occasionally am rewarded for my work with grimly disfunctional down town east side families with middle class kids going through temporary struggles with their parents, the parents always try using iphone's to keep tabs on them, the kids effing hate it, I spend most of my time trying to teach the parents that being able to track your kid doesnt keep them safe, they will disable the phone or leave it at home or even, in a couple of cases, taunt the parent with selfies of the kids getting high in some crack house.
If you and your kids always have a good relationship this wont be an issue, but if that's the case they will tell you where they are anyway and you dont really need it, on the other hand if you and your kids dont get on they will utterly hate you for this, you are using the most important thing in their lives, their phone, in order to track them, think about how you would feel if a boss you couldnt stand used your work phone this way.
I will also point out I never get my kids phones, they not only dont keep kids safe, they actually put them in much higher risk, they are about the only thing my poorer kids rob off the richer kids they find, smart phone apps also enable pervs to contact and groom your kids without you having any clue whats going on
As foster parent I hate smart phones, they make my kids far far less safe
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Whatever you do in the end, do NOT give your kids phones without a SIM card in it. These are commonly known as 'Emergency Phones' and are damn near useless IN an emergency.
A cell phone without a SIM card but with power can still be used. It can only dial 911, and it provides no useful information when doing so, so unless the person calling is conscious, capable and able to tell emergency services where they are, they are basically unfindable.
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Just for some context here, as a foster parent I occasionally am rewarded for my work with grimly disfunctional down town east side families with middle class kids going through temporary struggles with their parents, the parents always try using iphone's to keep tabs on them, the kids effing hate it, I spend most of my time trying to teach the parents that being able to track your kid doesnt keep them safe, they will disable the phone or leave it at home or even, in a couple of cases, taunt the parent with selfies of the kids getting high in some crack house.
If you and your kids always have a good relationship this wont be an issue, but if that's the case they will tell you where they are anyway and you dont really need it, on the other hand if you and your kids dont get on they will utterly hate you for this, you are using the most important thing in their lives, their phone, in order to track them, think about how you would feel if a boss you couldnt stand used your work phone this way.
I will also point out I never get my kids phones, they not only dont keep kids safe, they actually put them in much higher risk, they are about the only thing my poorer kids rob off the richer kids they find, smart phone apps also enable pervs to contact and groom your kids without you having any clue whats going on
As foster parent I hate smart phones, they make my kids far far less safe
Okay. And I can understand that to a certain degree, but I think your circumstances and Table's are significantly different. So much so as to be incomparable.
I think what Table is after is not only perfectly reasonable but also quite admirable.
My own personal opinion is that kids are hovered over far, far too much. He wants to give them some more freedom (and they're probably a lot younger than your charges) while providing a little safety back-stop.
Seems entirely cromulent to me.
No different than when us old bastards first got cars and some freedom and mom and dad got us a basic cell phone...'for emergencies.'
Its not like he's implanting a tracking chip in their skulls so 5G and chemtrails can take control of their minds or anything.
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Obviously lots of different scenarios here that require different solutions. Phones are kind of the lifeblood of handling logistics in my family. How else do you coordinate when and where they need to be picked up and/or taken to various different activities?
I remember the kids had a friend in the neighborhood who had to call her dad every time she went to a house but didn't have a phone. They'd be bouncing around from house to house at that age, and sometimes she would have to call her 3-4 times a day from my house and had to use my cell phone while I was trying to work each time. I was about ready to ban her from the house!
I'd rather know that I can see their location if needed than be on them for remembering to text at every stop or get on them for not answering texts or calls if their ringer is off/bad coverage or battery is out. I can't remember a single instance I ever used their location against them or ever looked at it to try to catch them somewhere they shouldn't be. It did come in very handy when my younger son went over his handlebars face first into a creek with no way to describe where he was.
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Low-key kid tracking
