anyone put gps tracking on their teen phone?

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Cathlete
Thinking about finding one for my teen to help keep track of location when on sleep overs etc. I think it would give peace of mind. Has anyone done this yet?

PS I'm not looking for a sermon about freedom rights. Just wanted to know if it gave peace of mind to parents in a dangerous world.
 
My kids are not at teenage age yet so I can't help you with that, but I know if that technology is available when they are that age, you better believe I'll use it. Good for you for wanting to keep track of your child. So many parents are "afraid" of their kids and don't go in their rooms or ask about friends and stuff. And then when their child gets into trouble or shoots student at school, they don't have any idea how it all "just happened" or that they had guns or drugs right in their own room. I think parents need to be more aware of where their children are and who they are with. Even if they trust the child, as you said you just want to make sure she is safe and where she is supposed to be and that is wonderful. By the way, I think kids have limited rights when they are living under your roof. My parents were the same with me and I always had to call them, they would come check to see if I was where I said I was, and they would go through my stuff if they wanted too. I knew they cared enough and none of my friends parents did any of that and they were all getting in trouble with the law and at school. Good for you. Oops, sorry this is so long, I didn't expect to go off on tangent here!!!
 
I don't have kids but I'm chiming in here b/c I feel very strongly about this. I think in this dangerous world being able to keep track your children is very, very important. God forbid something terrible happens & you can't find your child! I guess I watch too many true crime shows, but there are some really creepy people out there. Case in point, that psycho who's going around filming children at parties & blogging about it.

In fact, I've even considered getting it on my phone so my cousin, who lives a few blocks away, will be able to track ME in case something happens. I'm just about the most liberal woman you'll meet, but when it comes to safety I put that far, far ahead of my right to privacy. I don't give a crap if the government always knows where I am, as long as I'm safe!
 
My son is 2 1/2. I'm sure he would find a way to use a cell phone now if I gave him one, but I don't think I will be doing that. However, like one above poster said, I will certainly utilize that when the time comes.
 
I don't have kids, but if I did I wouldn't bother with a cell phone -- I'd have a GPS device surgically implanted;). Hey, that's what they do with dogs and cats these days. Are your children any less important? Oh yeah, and I wouldn't hesitate to search every square inch of a kid's room. The world is a very scary place.

Edited for typos:D
 
>I don't have kids, but if I did I wouldn't bother with a cell
>phone -- I'd have a GPS device surgically implanted;). Hey,
>that's what they do with dogs and cats these days. Are your
>children any less important? Oh yeah, and I wouldn't hesitate
>to search every square inch of a kid's room. The world is a
>very scary place.


Amen, sistah! :)
 
I have looked into adding that feature to our family plan- I have a 21 and a 17 year old. I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping track of where your child is :) I have mentioned this to my oldest, of course he is not thrilled that mom will know where he is, but as long as he is under my plan that is my option.

Michelle
 
OK, so here is the weakest link as I see it. If a teen wanted to go somewhere off limits they could stay the night at a friends house. Check in with parents, then leave the phone at friends and go out. Then the teen is out late doing whatever they do and doesn't have a phone in case of emergency. My DD is a great kid. I don't want anyone to think she is a wild child, but I think all of us try some pretty stupid stuff as teens and given time she might too. I want peace of mind in a world where my teen is the only of her peers with a curfew. Personally I am floored with the lack of limits parents place on their kids these days.

So then the thought is
1] do I not gps and hope for the best?
2] Or gps and hope for the best :) ?
 
I say go for the GPS and make her check in a time or two. That way she has to be with the phone at all times. I always had to check in here and there to let my parents know where I was. Although it really didn't work then because there was no caller ID then so they had no idea where I really was, but at least they new I was alive I guess!!! I'm sure you trust your daughter but I was a very good kid and I still tested my boundaries sometimes, that's what kids do. Also, it's not just about whether you trust her or not, it is for safety purposes to. So I say yes!
 
My teens could not live without text messaging - I highly doubt they would leave their phone at someone's house because OMG!!! They might miss a vital TXT saying that Samantha and Tammy had a fight and Tammy is saying horrible things about Samantha!

Okay, I'm being facetious, but it is true - my DD18 had over 1,000 text messages last month. And was on the phone for only 30 minutes. Go figure. I haven't looked into the GPS thing yet. But, I have been tempted. I'm going to look into again.
 
I would do it. My stepdaughter is 9 so no phone yet. But I think I would definetly do it.

She just discovered club penguin on the computer and they can chat with one another, well I already told her no giving out personal info I know its a website for kids but hey you never know.

She's a good kid and all of her friends are good kids, but kids will be kids and the boundaries will be pushed, I don't think it is bad to keep track of your child to know where they are or know what is in thier room.

You have to give them some trust and raise them to make good choices, but its still a different world from when we grew up so knowing where they are is a good thing. A peace of mind in a crazy world is not much to ask!!

Jenn


;-)
 
I hope you're not implying that I don't care, or worry about my teenager. I do. The bottom line is, I trust her. Anything can happen, with or without GPS.
 
>I hope you're not implying that I don't care, or worry about
>my teenager. I do. The bottom line is, I trust her.
>Anything can happen, with or without GPS.
I never meant to imply anything about anyone. This is a case of {me] a mother considering her options with regard to raising her DD. I would never pass judgement about your choice not to utilize a GPS. Heck, I don't know what the correct answer is that's why I'm asking you guys for your opinions ;)
 
Great way to ruin the relationship between you and your daughter.

She needs to know that you trust her, it hurts to find out that your own parents dont even trust you.

just an opinion from someone who just recently was a teenager.
 
I avoided the freedom speech by being very brief, but apparently not very clear. LOL

I've found that in order to keep sane, I have to relax a little bit.

My DD is coming up on 17, BTW.
 
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