Giggle Bug Toddler Tracker Child Locator - Page 2

[kewb]

Originally Posted by incorrigible

It sounds like a creative idea, but I don't think I'd bother with it. I just teach my kids what to do if they get lost. They need to know that whether they have a noise making device or not. I would rather rely on knowledge and action than them beeping. Any time we hit a crowded or desolate kind of place we go over the rules again...."What do you do if we are separated?" bit. I always have to overcome what some dumb TV show taught them and remind them of the safest ways to deal with things. They always chime up with "Stay right where I am" or "don't talk to strangers" or some other non-sense and have to be reminded to take positive actions not just stand around and hope fate is in their favor.

:

These kind of devices always make me think that we are paving the way to being okay with putting chips in our kids and eventually everyone will have a chip. Thanks but no, thanks.

[siobhang]

Originally Posted by Terabith

If I had the cash, I'd get a bunch of them and put them on our shoes in the house (I can never find shoes), my keys, cell phone, and some other things that seem to consistently wander off.....

My dad got me one of those, but unfortunately, the device you press to make the damned buzzer sound ALSO wandered off (why did they have to make it look like a phone??? I found my 3 1/2 year old talking into it).

[siobhang]

Originally Posted by kewb

:

These kind of devices always make me think that we are paving the way to being okay with putting chips in our kids and eventually everyone will have a chip. Thanks but no, thanks.

heh, pets which travel internationally have to have an RFID under their skin with their info on it.

Actually, after the pain I went through just to get the kids medical records from their previous doctor, I am not too opposed to an RFID for kids under their skin with their medical info on it - privacy be damned...

[kissum]

I like squeaky shoes for this purpose.

[RainCoastMama]

Originally Posted by incorrigible

He's empowered and capable and always does a smashing job of handling the trouble he gets himself into.

Empowered and capable are great if they're developmentally able, articulate, etc. etc. ad nauseum for that type of critical thinking. I'm all for empowerment and personal capability.

For the under-2 crowd, GPS/tracking devices all the way.

[Tanibani]

Originally Posted by kissum

I like squeaky shoes for this purpose.

I like tie-dye shirts or orange/yellow shirts for this purpose.

Not going to knock any parent who buys one.

But I could * really * use one for my car keys. But of course, I'd loose the button anyway.

[littlemizflava]

Originally Posted by cee3

I just read some reviews of this product on Amazon and I'm wondering if their 80 db claim is correct. It got pretty poor reviews, with the biggest complaint being that you couldn't hear it if there was any sort of background noise, including playgrounds or stores where they played background music. I'm not sure what we're going to do when we go camping. I thought about attaching bells or something onto my kids' clothing, but I'm not sure I'd be able to hear that, either.

Edited to add: I'm going to give my older son a whistle, but the little one wouldn't be capable of using a whistle if he couldn't see us.

try it my ds was born 20/10/06 and to my joy : my dd taught him yesterday how to blow a whistle its not loud yet but he can do it

i find a beter tool is a two way radio

[cee3]

Originally Posted by littlemizflava

try it my ds was born 20/10/06 and to my joy : my dd taught him yesterday how to blow a whistle its not loud yet but he can do it

i find a beter tool is a two way radio

Yeah, I think he could blow the whistle (one of his favorite toys, actually, is a kazoo). I just don't think that if he wandered into the woods, turned around and couldn't see us, that he would understand that he was supposed to blow a whistle. I'm going to just stick him in the Ergo and hope he tolerates it.

I asked my brother, father of four boys, if he was going to take any precautions on the trip. He hadn't even thought about it. Hmph. Maybe I'm just a worrywart.

[waiting4it2snow]

Originally Posted by siobhang

I'd rather have a GPS locator, strapped to their wrist or arm and locked so they cannot take it off - it cannot be taken off.

Low jack for the toddler set.

I would love THAT invention actually - I had it all worked out one day when I was in the library - the kids room is pretty big and there is a one-person bathroom right next to the computer lab where my daughter was at, so I think I took the baby in with me to pee real quick but suddenly had a panick stricken moment that I was leaving my older children UNATTENDED!!! Like, OMG, they might get stolen out of this small town library, right under the nose of the two librarians who were sitting next to the computer lab... I don't know, I was out of the bathroom in about 45 seconds but I felt real weird. I was thinking how nice it would be if I had a master watch that had a map on it of my location within 1/2 mile with red dots that showed where each of my kids were at - and they each had a watch with the GPS position on it - and all the watches were two-way walkies, so I could just talk into my watch and say "stay right there" or whatever.

Now, wouldn't that be cool for camping? Esp. if you could adjust the map for 0.5 miles, or 1 mile, or 5, etc. and it could just use satellites to load the info... I know you wouldn't be able to talk to your toddler with the radio, but you could still find his/her location.

Something like that would probably be too expensive right now, but I know we have the technology. I think it would be a good seller if the price was right,

[cee3]

Originally Posted by waiting4it2snow

I would love THAT invention actually - I had it all worked out one day when I was in the library - the kids room is pretty big and there is a one-person bathroom right next to the computer lab where my daughter was at, so I think I took the baby in with me to pee real quick but suddenly had a panick stricken moment that I was leaving my older children UNATTENDED!!! Like, OMG, they might get stolen out of this small town library, right under the nose of the two librarians who were sitting next to the computer lab... I don't know, I was out of the bathroom in about 45 seconds but I felt real weird. I was thinking how nice it would be if I had a master watch that had a map on it of my location within 1/2 mile with red dots that showed where each of my kids were at - and they each had a watch with the GPS position on it - and all the watches were two-way walkies, so I could just talk into my watch and say "stay right there" or whatever.

Now, wouldn't that be cool for camping? Esp. if you could adjust the map for 0.5 miles, or 1 mile, or 5, etc. and it could just use satellites to load the info... I know you wouldn't be able to talk to your toddler with the radio, but you could still find his/her location.

Something like that would probably be too expensive right now, but I know we have the technology. I think it would be a good seller if the price was right,

Here is something similar: http://childlocator.com/ and here: http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/ge...d-locator.html

[mystic_eye_cda]

If you cant SEE your toddler they are not safe.

Now if you are talking about a child that is old enough to not put their fingers in sockets, use the fire extinguisher, or eat whatever they find on the ground then MAYBE. If I was going hiking or something where you can't reasonably say "I will meet you at X point in X amount of time" (trees can really all look the same when you are lost). Then it might be useful. Then again screaming works just as well! And if your child is old enough to be out of site then your child is old enough to know if mom yells you better respond!

[ccohenou]

Dude, let's revisit the subject when your kid gets to be 2-3. Or when you have more than one child, each with his/her own agenda.

If you cant SEE your toddler they are not safe.

Which is why something like this could be useful...for bringing your child back into your sight.
If it worked that is - seems reviews are mixed.

[cee3]

Originally Posted by mystic_eye_cda

If you cant SEE your toddler they are not safe.

Now if you are talking about a child that is old enough to not put their fingers in sockets, use the fire extinguisher, or eat whatever they find on the ground then MAYBE. If I was going hiking or something where you can't reasonably say "I will meet you at X point in X amount of time" (trees can really all look the same when you are lost). Then it might be useful. Then again screaming works just as well! And if your child is old enough to be out of site then your child is old enough to know if mom yells you better respond!

Right. But I do not know one single parent who has never had a child scamper away or take off running. Like I said upthread, children don't always do only what you allow them or intend them to do. And, even if a child is capable of meeting you at a certain spot doesn't mean things will go as planned.

I was watching one of those 20/20 type programs a couple years ago. There was a kid in Utah who was on a camping trip with a group of Scouts. He and his dad were fishing just a couple hundred yards from camp and the kid's shoes got wet. He started back to camp while his dad gathered the stuff to follow him. He father followed not far behind him. The dad heard his son yell for him, once. Then the son was never seen again. Ever. Now, a Giggle Bug probably wouldn't have helped in this situation, but a GPS watch definitely could have. It's probably not a bad idea for any person, child or adult, to have some sort of tracking device or beacon when they are out in the woods, especially if they're in unfamiliar territory.

[cee3]

Here's a website that tells the story of Garrett Bardsley, the missing boy in Utah. While I was looking for a website about him, I found another that said that in light of his disappearance and some other high-profile cases of Scouts/campers going missing, the Utah Boy Scouts have indeed started using tracking devices for their campers, which can be checked out on a voluntary basis.

[amitymama]

I can see why GPS would be considered by parents of toddlers but the thing that worries me about chipping people is that there are going to be parents who like it so much and get used to relying on it that they are either going to become complacent, possibly creating even bigger risks to their children by not paying enough attention, or some parents will decide to leave them in 'just a little longer' and then the child will start school and they'll think 'but he walks to school, this would be so useful to make sure he gets there ok' and then when he's a preteen and hanging out with his friends, to check up on where he's been.

And that, to me, is NOT okay. Children are not property to be tracked and tagged. And as sad as it is, the fear of losing them is something every parents has to live with. The alternatives just have too many scary implications.

[cee3]

Originally Posted by amitymama

I can see why GPS would be considered by parents of toddlers but the thing that worries me about chipping people is that there are going to be parents who like it so much and get used to relying on it that they are either going to become complacent, possibly creating even bigger risks to their children by not paying enough attention, or some parents will decide to leave them in 'just a little longer' and then the child will start school and they'll think 'but he walks to school, this would be so useful to make sure he gets there ok' and then when he's a preteen and hanging out with his friends, to check up on where he's been.

And that, to me, is NOT okay. Children are not property to be tracked and tagged. And as sad as it is, the fear of losing them is something every parents has to live with. The alternatives just have too many scary implications.

I agree with you about chipping. It bothers me on principal, although I can see the benefits. It's not something I would do to my children. The GPS devices, though, can also be implanted in watches and key fobs, not just underneath the skin. The watches are the devices that are now being used by the scouts in Utah (on a voluntary basis...they're not required). I think watches are great ideas, to be used occasionally in situations where they might be particularly needed.