A Child Tracker – The Little Buddy
Tracking devices designed to monitor the whereabouts of children are being pushed on to the market at regular intervals as it would seem they are quite a popular device with anxious parents. And here is another one – Little Buddy Tracker. This one is designed for younger children.
Anybody who has a child knows how scary it can be when children are not where they are supposed to be. Children get lost or missing from schools, malls, parks, trains, buses, from crowded places and not necessarily because they are victims of any crime, but because they just tend to wander off.
It packs a powerful transmitter into its small body and can be kept in your child’s school bag or lunchbox or maybe even a pocket.
The device has to be activated via its web site. If the child is not at a designated place at a specified time you will get a text message. You have to specify the places and times. The Insignia will also let you know when its battery is running low. If the device is kept on the child even when he or she is at home, or at a friend’s place or in the backyard, and you are out, you will learn whether the he or she is really where he is supposed to be.
There are pros and cons with tracking children as some would argue it impedes in their independence and therefore development whereas others would argue their safe being a good reason for tracking.
A tracking device designed for children does not have to be used in an unsuspecting manner; a parent could agree with the child that they would carry the device so they can ensure they get to and return from school safely, for example. Likewise, it can be used when they go out with their friends.
The device is available for the American market from BestBuy, and at $99.99, it would seem good value, but since a lot of children these days carry mobile phones, they could just as easily have a tracking service integrated on in it for a small monthly fee.