Let's face it. The world we live in is a dangerous, scary place. Our children are all too vulnerable and naïve. We have to do something to protect them from getting lost, getting hurt while driving, or being kidnapped. As worried as we are, though, we can't hover over them all day, making them stay within eye distance of us. Sometimes we just have to let them go. How else are they going to learn to be independent? Through tons of research, one of the things I have found that I can use to aid myself in protecting them is by using personal GPS location devices.
When I was a child, 25 years ago, things were so different. Even at the age of 10, my mom would push me out of the house to go do something. I was allowed to ride my bike five miles to the beach, and hang out there all day long if I wanted to. If my mom was worried, she didn't show it. Wow, have things changed!
My youngest child, Alex, is 5 years old. Unfortunately he goes to his dad's house every weekend for visitation. His dad has an extensive history of mentally and physically abusing me. He is also an unpredictable, recovering alcoholic who used to threaten to kill himself at least once a month while we were together. He has 2 DUI's as well. In the past, I had to get two restraining orders against him. Yet, despite all of this, the courts let him take my son. I am sure those of you with children can understand the anxiety it causes me every time he takes my little boy. Because of this, I bought my son a cool, little watch that is a personal GPS locator. His dad has no idea what it is, and my son refuses to take it off. With this, I am able to track, in real-time, everywhere he goes when he is gone. This is beneficial to both me and Alex, because I still have an innate fear that my ex is going to, given his unpredictable nature, take off with my son someday, never to be seen again.
My middle child, Cody, is 12. He is very active outside and loves to just take off on his bike and go riding around the neighborhood. Cody also rides his bike to and from school. He has just hit puberty, so I really try to let him explore and give him the freedom he needs. I do, however, make him carry his durable, pocket size personal locator wi th him whenever he leaves the house. That way, I at least can pinpoint where he is at any given time. The device also lets me set up boundaries of where he can go (called a geo fencing). If, and when, he goes outside the boundaries, I receive an alert on my phone via text message.
My oldest child is my 16 year old daughter, Lindsey. As you may suspect, she just started driving on her own. With teen accidents involving fatalities being off the charts and the many distractions new teen drivers face, I had to do something to increase her odds of being a safe driver. She has an installed real time GPS locator in her car that monitors her speed, location, passenger count by monitoring audio in the car and has an SOS button she can push in an emergency. This, in and of itself, causes her to rethink how she drives, decreasing her chances of reckless driving. In addition to this locator, Lindsey has a small personal GPS locator that she keeps in her purse for added security. She has to leave the car at some point, and with carjacking and abductions being so prevalent, I believe this gives her extra security.
To some people, I may come across as being a bit paranoid, or even over controlling of my kids. The reality of it is, though, the world just isn't as safe as it used to be for our kids to grow up in.
My name is Jennifer Katz, and I am the mother of a new teen driver. I created my website, http://www.teendrivertracking.com/, with the hope of being able to educate other parents of teen drivers on how to keep their teens safe. I would also love to hear from parents about their experiences with their teen drivers, and what they do to keep their teens safe.
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