Category: For Kids

Kids GPS Tracking Devices and School

GPS tracking devices have many applications in today’s society.  We use them to help us better manage massive fleets (like municipal bus systems and tractor trailers), packages and other assets, as well as to track our children.  GPS tracking devices are even beginning to make their way into the world of public schools.

Bryan Adams High School is currently testing out a pilot program to help keep students in school and off the streets through the use of a GPS tracking device. Faced with a truancy rate in excess of 15% the school was loosing many of its kids and the money associated with their attendance. Strapped for a solution to this problem the Dallas Independent School District’s (Dallas ISD), which has the seventh worst dropout rate among large school districts according to America’s Promise Alliance, has turned to GPS tracking devices to get the children into class.

These GPS devices, more like the devices used to monitor an individual on house arrest than a GPS tracking watch, were given to 6 students of the more than 300 who were sent to truancy court over the past year. The project cost the district $26,000, with the bulk of the money going to a case worker assigned to monitor and assist the children’s activities and to provide support to the families in keeping their child in school. This method is much more cost effective for the state when compared to detaining the chronically truant in a juvenile detention facility. Giving them a kids GPS can also provide some much need structure to a student’s life, increasing their ability to function in society.

There are additional benefits to using GPS tracking for kids that are truant. Most students who suffer from truancy issues also have other issues that they deal with. These issue can range from the extreme to the minor and include behavior involving drugs or alcohol, gang involvement, family life issues, or all of the above. Last year, the GPS tracking system for truant students was used to locate a member of the trial group on the verge of overdosing on illicit drugs. Also last year, the GPS system helped case workers discover that a student had ditched school because he was thinking about taking his own life. In both instances, a GPS tracking unit helped those concerned with the well being of the students to track them down and provide the assistance that they so desperately needed.

But not every one is enamored with idea of kids GPS used in schools. According to a New York Times article, one Texas state senator is opposed to the idea because the “ankle cuffs used in an earlier version were reminiscent of slave chains” (source). This could be a comment based solely on the political aspirations of a politician since the ethnic make up of Bryan Adams High School is predominately non-European. The majority of students are Hispanic American (53%), with African Americans representing the next largest contingent (32%). In addition to ethnic diversity, the school is economically disadvantaged, with 62% being classified as such. These demographic statistics could be at the heart of the senator’s comments or it could really be that the school district is out to reintroduce and perpetuate slavery through GPS.

In all, the Bryan Adams High School and Dallas ISD should be applauded for their efforts in utilizing GPS tracking devices to help students to maintain their attendance, pass school, and get quality jobs that can help alleviate the poverty in the community. The use of GPS tracking technology to improve current systems needs to be further explored and tested in real life situations if we are to fully develop and utilize this powerful technology.

Kids GPS Tracking Watch for Children – The Power of Fun

Getting your child to wear their GPS tracking watch can be a bit of a hassle. They can be bulky and uncomfortable, giving your child every reason in the world not to wear it. This can defeat the purpose of getting the kids GPS device in the first place. What is even worse is that children often lose items that are not attached to their bodies, resulting in the device’s potential theft or, at the very least, the inconvenience of having to track it down in some out of the way place. Concerned parent, do not fret, there are real solutions to this child tracking problem.

Associate the GPS Tracking Watch With Warm, Fuzzy Map Feelings

GPS is built with maps in mind, often integrating seamlessly with various mapping applications. By teaching your child to enjoy looking at maps you can easily motivate them to wear their GPS kids device. For example, to introduce your child to wearing a GPS tracking watch you take them on a fun trip to one of their favorite destinations.

Let’s say that your child loves Disneyland and you decide to try this method out there. Before you go on the trip you introduce to them the idea of GPS tracking and let them know that all the places you go today are going to be tracked, but instead of having them wear the watch you wear it. You go about your fun trip as you normally would. As you wait in line at various attractions remind the child about the watch by saying things like, “I wonder where the Tea Cups are on a map of the world” or “It will be so fun to see exactly where we saw Mickey when we look at the GPS tomorrow.” The key here is on building excitement and anticipation around the watch. Once you have had a fun day at Disneyland (or on a any trip/event your child would enjoy) it is time to relive the entire experience once you have time to sit down with the tracking information. During this time you try and highlight the funnest parts of the experience while reinforcing the fact that the GPS tracking watch is what made it all possible.

You might even consider using a tracking device that seamlessly integrates with digital photos – like the i-GotU. This way you can see all the wonderful memories and the location where you took them on a map afterward.

Now your child has some significantly positive feelings about the GPS kid tracker. For some children this will be enough to get them to wear it. But if you want to solidify your child’s positive feeling toward the watch you may want to take the next step and take your child on another adventure – but this time they wear the watch. You basically do the exact same things – have fun, remind them about the watch, build anticipation to see what the watch recorded, relive the trip’s moments later – as you did the first time, but now the child will be associating the fun and excitement with them wearing the watch. This type of association is key to getting your child to buy in to the GPS system.

Reinforce Your Kid’s Love for GPS

Now that your child has some very positive memories with the device it is time to get them wearing the watch as part of their daily routine. You won’t have to fight with them during these times when you really want them to wear it the most because you have already taken a little effort on the front end to make it special.

Keeping the watch special should now be the focus of your efforts. You can do this naturally by infusing your regular dialog with your child with references to the tracker. You could say things like, “I wonder where you played at lunch today, do you want to see?” Or you might say, “Yeah, class sounded really interesting today. Hey, that makes me wonder something. I wonder where Mrs. Robinson’s classroom is on a map. Let’s look!” These types of things will hopefully keep the fun of their device alive in their mind until the force of habit created by wearing the watch day after day becomes enough to keep them wearing it for some time.

GPS Can Work For Kids

As you can see, with a little effort it is possible to build positive feelings around these sometimes bulky and awkward tracking watches. Not only will you create some really nice family memories on your trips, but you will also give yourself the peace of mind you were looking for in getting the kids GPS tracker in the first place. Both are invaluable to you as a parent and both can help make the world a safer, more happy place. So give this kids GPS tracking watch tip whirl and see how it works out for you.

This article was included in the Carnival of Family Life found at Live from Waterloo