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With so many GPS tracking apps offered for keeping your children safe, how does a parent go about choosing one of them?  One simple way is to determine exactly what you want to do.

Does your child have a cell phone?  You probably want an app installed on their phone such as Family Tracker, alerting you to your child’s location.  If the child is older, you may wish to install iHound on their phone.  This app leaves your child responsible for sending an alert when they have arrived at the library after getting out of school, or any other place they may be going on their own.

These are great ideas, but many parents fear that these apps leave their child’s whereabouts and personal information wide open for hackers to steal.  The FBI has come up with an app of their own that they say is hacker-proof.  How is this possible?  No information is collected and stored at the FBI directly.

Using the FBI Child ID app, parents create a “database” for each child, containing pertinent lifesaving information such as eye color, a photo, and the weight of the child.  If the child is taken or goes missing, the parent can instantly get information to the FBI or the police using Child ID.

As a spokesperson for the FBI states, “It’s very critical in the first few minutes and hours in these cases where there is missing children to seek the help of authorities to help locate your child – and obviously you want to arm them with the most information that you can to get the best chances to locate your child quickly.”

This app is available for free download, and (as long as you don’t lose your phone) is hacker-proof.

Article Written by Khristen Foss

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Many school districts across the nation are playing a grown up game of “I Spy” using GPS tracking technology and electronic Identification tags. In addition to the numerous GPS tracking devices that have been installed in many school buses throughout the nation, some districts now require students to carry electronic identification cards.

Student ID cards work the same way that employee identification cards do, which means that a school district can keep a close eye on all children throughout the day. As soon as a student (including Kindergarten students) enters a school bus, these students are required to swipe an identification card in front of an ID machine. A quick flash and a beep means that a student has entered a school bus effectively giving some parents peace of mind. Yet, not all parents believe that this kind of identification process is necessary.

At the moment, only school officials have access to child identification information, though many districts report that this information will soon be available to parents too. While many school districts throughout the U.S. currently use GPS tracking technology in order to keep track of school buses, electronic identification cards are a relatively new type of safety measure.

Due to the popularity of these cads, it is safe to assume that electronic ID cards will soon become a part of many young lives throughout the next couple of years. Implementing an identification system of this manner will cost school districts around $16,000. Is all of this child tracking technology too much?

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By Harriette Halepis

Will your child arrive home from school before you do? Lots of kids today find their own way home from school – a scenario that’s unavoidable if both parents work late. While many kids are perfectly capable of arriving at home safely, it’s important to lay down some ground rules if your child will be at home alone.

1. Make sure to establish some kind of notification system with your child. When your child arrives at home after school, ask them to call you on your cell phone (or at your office) right away.

2. Walk though safety steps with your child while you are on the phone. Speak to your child as he or she moves around the house locking doors, checking windows, and looking around the house.

3. Tell your child to take the same route home from school every day. This way, you’ll know where to look if your child does not arrive home on time.

4. Do not let your child have friends over without your presence. Even if your child can be trusted, children can get into a lot of trouble when left unattended.

5. Know your child’s schedule. Parents often panic when a child does not arrive home on time (and rightly so), but sometimes this is the result of an organized after-school activity. Make sure that you know your child’s schedule to prevent panic!

6. Let your child know your schedule. If you aren’t going to be home when you said you would, call your child and let them know about your changed plans. This way, your child won’t have to worry when you don’t show up on time.

7. Provide your child with a GPS tracking device. A simple tracking device can ensure that your child arrive as home – and stays there – while you are away.

These simple rules should be established well before school begins. Sit down with your family, talk about the suggestions listed above, and come to terms that everyone understands. Some simple planning can ensure that your child is safe when home alone.

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By Greg Bartlett

The innocence of a child brings a smile to the face of anyone who has a special little one in his life. That innocence, however, can also be a source of danger for children who are too trusting of strangers. Child safety concerns have prompted many parents to look to GPS tracking for aid in monitoring the whereabouts of their sons and daughters at any given time.

GPS tracking allows a parent to monitor his or her child’s location in real time or to view a report of their whereabouts throughout the day. As the child carries the GPS transmitter with him, it will send periodic signals to a home computer or receiving device. Parents can rest easy knowing exactly where their children have gone after school or with friends.

In the event that a parent notices the child is at an unknown location, GPS tracking allows law enforcement officers to pinpoint his whereabouts immediately, allowing for expeditious intervention. The device is accurate to within a few feet and can relay information such as speed and direction of travel as well as current location. Especially in the case of kidnapping, minutes or hours saved could mean a saved life as well.

All parents worry for the safety of their children at some point. With GPS tracking, those worries can quickly and easily be put to rest. In the event that the worst does happen, chances for the safe return of the child vastly increase when police have the help of a GPS device. It’s well worth the investment.

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By Greg Bartlett

You were really looking forward to starting your family, but now you’re almost wishing your kids would grow up quickly. It seems like every time you turn around they’ve disappeared and have started doing something you don’t want them to do. Yesterday your four-year-old figured out how to open the gate in your back yard and was nearly run over by a car in the street. And today your six-year-old disappeared for a time at the mall because you couldn’t watch all your kids at once.

Child Safety is #1

Thankfully there are ways to keep track of your active children, even if it seems like you can’t watch all of them all the time. With a GPS tracking device, you can find out where your child is and even be alerted if he or she gets too far away.

A GPS tracking device will let you locate your child remotely and monitor his or her location and speed. This could be helpful if you leave your child with a friend at a neighbor’s house but aren’t sure if the neighbor is letting your child and your child’s friend run around in the junkyard next door. Or maybe the GPS device will just give you peace of mind while you’re at work, knowing you can check up to make sure your child stays at the day-care center until you come to pick him or her up.

But a GPS tracking device can do more than locate an individual. It can send you regular updates about an individual’s location and has a panic button which the user can press in an emergency. Although very young children might not be able to use the panic button properly, those who can properly use the button will be able to be a little more secure, knowing they can call for help instantly if it is needed.

GPS devices can also alert you if an individual leaves predetermined boundaries, such as your house and yard, or goes into a danger zone, such as the community pool or even the street. You can even set it to start beeping if the child gets too far away from you, which would have alerted you in the mall when your six-year-old got distracted with the toy store and disappeared while you had your back turned.

Keeping track of your active family isn’t impossible, although it may seem that way. With a GPS tracking device, you can ensure your children’s safety by knowing where they are at all times.

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By Harriette Halepis

New York City is a bustling town full of fun things for kids to do. One of the best ways for a kid to spend an afternoon in NYC is to head to Central Park. Full of games, fields, and other exciting features, it’s no wonder that kids of all ages head to the park on weekends and during day camp.

 
While the park itself is relatively safe during the daytime, every year many children wind up missing after a visit to Central Park. A large number of these children are found (most of them simply wander off), though some of them are never seen again.

 
Aside from those kids that visit Central Park with their parents, hundreds of kids visit the park with day camp staff every weekend. Three or four counsellors may be in charge of fifty or more children at any given time, which can lead to chaos.

 
Parents trust camp counsellors with their children on a regular basis, and counsellors do everything within their power to make sure that kids are safe. But, sometimes, children become lost, confused, and abandoned regardless of counsellor caution.

 
If you happen to be a New York parent with a small child, you may be wondering if there’s any way to protect your child from becoming another Central Park lost child statistic. Well, a simple technological device called a GPS tracker may just be the answer that you are looking for.
By strapping a GPS tracking watch to your child’s wrist, you can be sure that your child will be safe even when you can’t be around. How? If your child happens to wander off during a camp visit to the park, you can simply track the location of your child using a GPS tracking device.

Once your chid has been located, you can contact the proper authorities. If you are afraid that your child will remove a wristwatch, consider placing a small GPS tracker inside of your child’s backpack. Either device will keep your child from harm.

It’s hard to trust other people when it comes to your child. That’s why tracing your child’s every step is a good idea. Even though you can’t always keep an eye on your child, you can be sure that your child will be safe no matter where they may wander off to.

Central Park is a great place for a child to explore, but this large and friendly park is not such a great place once the sun starts to set. If you want to be sure that your child will always be safe (no matter who happens to be in charge of him or her during the daylight hours), use a GPS tracker.

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By Harriette Halepis

Hundreds of children fall prey to sexual predators on a regular basis. Most of these children never disclose the fact that they are being abused. As a result, parents tend to chalk-up strange behaviour to puberty, immaturity, and “growing pains.”

The fact of the matter is that there are some telltale warning signs that a child is being molested. If you are a parent, get to know what these warning signs are. You may not want to believe that anything is wrong with your child, but that would be a detrimental mistake.

When a child’s mood suddenly changes, this is an indication that something might be wrong. Frequently, kids that have fallen prey to sexual molesters don’t know how to ask for help, so they become mood, withdrawn, and angry instead.
Other signs that your child may have encountered a predator include: weight change, change in dress, fear of physical contact, loss of confidence, vivid nightmares, physical shame. In addition, a child might suddenly fear someone that they have never feared before.

A large percentage of child predators know their victims very well. This is precisely why children that have been molested will try to avoid their predators at all costs. If your child suddenly finds excuses why they can’t attend an event, ask yourself whether or not they have been avoiding the same person each time an event arises.

If you look closely enough, you will be able to determine whether or not your child is in trouble. If you suspect that your child might have been molested, try and talk with your child rationally and calmly. Most children are too ashamed and frightened to talk about an unwanted sexual encounter. Therefore, it’s up to you to encourage your child to speak up.

It’s never easy for a parent to consider the fact that someone they know could be a sexual predator. Still, the fact remains that predators can be anywhere. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, uncles, cousins – there’s no telling who might be after your child. The best way to ensure that your child is safe at all times is to purchase a GPS tracker.

When you have control over who your child sees, you can also determine whether or not something is happening to your child. With a GPS tracker, you can watch your child’s every move in order to keep your child from harm.

From the time that your child is young, make sure that they understand what a predator is. This way, your child can try to stay out of harm’s way. While well educated children can also become targets of sexual predators, a child that knows right from wrong is far more likely to tell an adult.

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By Harriette Halepis

Many parents that were once considering a GPS tracking device for their kids are now turning to GPS equipped cell phones. GPS cell phones tend to be less expensive than actually GPS trackers, but do they work as well as they should?

If you rely upon your child’s cell phone to keep them safe, you should know that these phones are not always reliable. GPS equipped cell phones will not work in many remote areas. This means that should your child travel out of a cell phone zone, the cell phone signal will be lost. When this happens, a GPS equipped cell phone becomes useless.

Alternately, a GPS tracking device will remain functional in most areas. Often, when a cell phone does not work, a GPS tracker does work. Therefore, your child will remain safe with the help of a GPS tracking device. Aside from loss of reception, there’s another great reason why you should opt for a GPS tracker over a GPS equipped cell phone.

Child abductors have been known to throw away a child’s cell phone immediately. These kidnappers assume that cell phones can be traced, which is why they dispose of them right away. However, a small GPS tracking device is largely undetectable. Thus, your child can still be found – even when a cell phone has been discarded.

For these reasons, and many more, it is never a good idea to replace a GPS tracker with a GPS equipped cell phone. If you want to keep your child safe, make sure to purchase a tracking device. Tracking devices have one function – to keep track of a person or object. These devices cannot be used as phones or music players, though they will save lives when tracking is required.

There are a number of problems that go along with all cell phones. Low battery life, loss of reception, and fragility are just some of those things. If your main goal is to keep a child safe with the help of a GPS equipped cell phone, you may want to rethink this plan.

It’s a great idea to keep track of your child at all times with the help of GPS – after all, this technology is nearly infallible. However, purchasing a GPS cell phone is simply not the same thing as purchasing a GPS tracking device. Leave the music, phone calls, and videos to cell phones, but keep your child save with a dedicated GPS tracker.

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By Greg Bartlett

Have you ever been in a busy mall with a small child? You carefully keep track of the child, but it seems like the next time you turn around, you’re alone. Of course you look around frantically until you locate the missing child – probably just around the corner at the candy shop.

Child Safety is #1

Losing a small child is, unfortunately, all too common. According to studies, 90% of families lose track of a small child in a public place, 45% of children are separated from their families in malls or in stores, 27% of children get lost at amusement parts, and 20% of families lose a child more than once.

Thankfully, of the many thousands of children who are lost this way each year, most are reunited with their families within a few minutes.

But losing your child can be a frightening experience for both you and the child, even if you are reunited, because there’s a lurking fear that you won’t be able to find your child. GPS tracking devices can give you peace of mind by helping keep track of your child.

When your child is wearing a GPS tracking device, you can find the child’s location immediately if he or she becomes lost. Furthermore, many GPS systems designed for tracking individuals such as small children will emit beeps if a child wanders too far away from you. Then, if you’re looking at a rack for a minute and hear the beeping, you will instantly be alerted that you need to locate your child.

Many GPS tracking devices also allow the wearer to activate an alert button if an emergency arises. For children who are old enough to understand not to push the button for fun, the panic alert can provide another layer of safety.

Of course, GPS tracking devices can’t protect your child completely. You still need to watch your children and make sure you know where they are at all times, and a GPS device will not stop your child from being kidnapped or getting lost. It can, however, help you to locate your child if anything happens, and it can help to alert you if your child strays too far away from you.

Shopping in the mall – or in any other busy, public place – doesn’t have to be a frightening experience for you and your young child.

GPS tracking devices can help ensure that you know where your child is and that you and your child will stay together.

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By Greg Bartlett

Divorce rates in the United States indicate that nearly fifty percent of first marriages will end in divorce. While some of these divorces are due to incompatibility or other personal reasons, some involve more sinister circumstances such as abuse. Whatever the case, many parents find themselves in the midst of a nasty custody battle in which they are truly concerned for the safety of their children. In these instances, access to the children may be strictly denied to the offending spouse.

Child Safety is #1

But what if the offender refuses to comply with a restraining order? What if a working mom must allow her children to be home alone from after school until she gets home at 5:00? GPS tracking can ensure that the children are where they are supposed to be and that they have not been abducted—a possibility which, sadly, is all too common.

A GPS transmitter can be concealed inside a watch or clipped to a waistband so that it is not readily noticeable. While cell phones can also be used for tracking, a criminal might know to look for and discard a cell phone. A smaller, more easily overlooked device may be best in such situations. Some GPS tracking models have a battery life of twenty-four hours while others can continue transmitting data for up to two weeks before needing to be recharged. Individual circumstances will determine which is the best choice for any given family.

GPS tracking transmitters will send signals to a computer or other receiving device, pinpointing the child’s location within a few feet at any given time. In this way, concerned parents can know for sure whether the child is with an abusive parent, or whether he stayed late at school that day. In the event of an abduction the GPS device can also provide such information as speed and direction of travel and number and duration of stops made. This information could prove invaluable should a police investigation be required. Children should be instructed not to remove the GPS device for any reason when away from home.

Emotions tend to run high and anger to spark quickly during difficult divorce situations, but in the end it is the safety of the children that is of primary importance. GPS tracking can provide parents with peace of mind and an extra pair of eyes so that they can know their children are safe at any given time.

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