Ensuring child safety: Examining technology parents use to track their children

It has never been easier to find something you’ve lost. Consumers can track their phones, keys, or luggage.

What about people? Safety-related technology is being marketed to help parents keep tabs on their kids.

Consumers can find various options, from watches to tiny trackers that can clip onto backpacks. Read on for more on what’s out there and different perspectives regarding tracking.

“WE KNOW EVERYWHERE YOU GO”

Back when Catherine Smit-Torrez’s youngest kids began driving, she installed a GPS tracker in the family car.

“We had it professionally installed,” recalled Smit-Torrez. “It was installed to the battery under the hood in the engine compartment.”

The family used the tracker to monitor their teenagers' location and driving habits.

“We had it set so if they ever went over 60 miles an hour, we knew exactly where they were because it sent us a message,” said Smit-Torrez.

Smit-Torrez said the decision to track was informed by decades of experience in law enforcement as a former police chief, police captain, and D.A.R.E. officer in schools.

Smit-Torrez said she told her children about the tracker and explained it could be used as a tool to avoid peer pressure.

“We told our kids, look, there's a GPS tracker on your car. We know everywhere you go. If your friends try to get you to go somewhere that we won't allow, we're going to know you're there, and you tell them,” Smit-Torrez said.

Smit-Torrez, who now works as a private investigator, points out even more gadgets are available than when her kids were young.

“Now technology has totally changed everything,” she said.

WATCHES AND ALTERNATIVE USES FOR SOME TRACKERS

Some of that technology is made for children who may be too young to carry a phone. A bit of scrolling online shows all sorts of watches with cellular and GPS tracking. There are smart tags designed to monitor kids’ real-time location.

With just a few more clicks, consumers can also find lanyards or wristbands made to attach devices, like an AirTag, to kids.

An AirTag retails for 29 dollars. Unlike GPS trackers, there’s no monthly subscription fee.

Apple has said the AirTag is designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not people. Apple has also published instructions on unwanted tracking and what to do if you suspect someone is digitally following you.  As Apple explains on its website, AirTag uses a Bluetooth signal that nearby devices can detect in the “Find My” network. The devices send the AirTag location to iCloud, where the owner can see the location on a map.

Another Bluetooth tracker for objects, Tile, explains Bluetooth technology does not provide real-time location updates.

“BAD GUYS DON’T CHECK”

“Bad guys don't check whether an AirTag or a phone that tracks the child or not is on the person when they kidnapped that person or when they harm that person,” said Alex del Carmen, Ph.D.

Dr. del Carmen is a professor and associate dean in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Strategic Studies at Tarleton State University.

We asked if there are conclusive studies about whether tracking kids keeps kids safer.

“There is no data that is reputable, and that comes from a scientific source that actually says your kids are going to be safer if you track them down,” said Dr. del Carmen.

However, he said information suggests it makes parents feel better.

“I think this is more about the feeling of safety for the parents than it is about safety itself as it relates to the child,” he explained.

Dr. del Carmen points out countless crimes are solved with help from technology like cell phones - though tech has limits.

“Crime happens in a matter of seconds,” said Dr. del Carmen. “Oftentimes, when there's a struggle, the backpack falls. When there's a struggle, the cell phone falls out.”

“THERE’S NO EASY BUTTON”

NBC 5 Responds also asked police to weigh in. Arlington Police Department tells us it doesn’t endorse or discourage using any products. Detective Nathan Bishop with APD’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit said that while parents may worry about a stranger abduction off the street, a significant safety concern police see is often more subtle.

“It's who are they talking to all the time? Who are the people that they're online with that they're in communication with that we may not know about? Because that's really the big risk that we see every day. Day in, day out,” said Detective Bishop.

Some technology can be helpful, he shared, though it's no replacement for involved parenting.

“There's no easy button you can hit that's going to have that same result and be anywhere near as effective. There's lots of things that can help out and maybe they could trigger a red flag or something to pay closer attention, but parents need to be involved,” Bishop said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shares guidance here about abduction prevention and personal safety for kids. You can find additional resources, including what families should know about sextortion here.

The Federal Trade Commission offers online safety tips for families, including bullying prevention.

ANALOG PARENTING

Amy Tyson, parent to an 11-year-old, said she was in the analog camp when we asked about tracking.

“She doesn't ride her bicycle anywhere by herself. So, no, not at this point. And, I definitely wouldn't put anything on her without talking to her dad,” Tyson said.

Tyson is an author who focuses on navigating divorce. She said there were advantages to her oldest kids using mobile phone apps, like Life360, to communicate their location.

“We used those for when they were driving late at night after work, driving to college, and things like that,” Tyson said.

While she has no plans to monitor her youngest with a tracker, she points out questions about how or if tracking a child can be sensitive, with no single answer to fit all families.

“Everybody has their own baggage, right? Somebody may have been through a very traumatic situation at some point in their past, and it may cause them a lot of alarm for their child,” said Tyson.

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