TRACKER DEVICE FOR KIDS

thetyreman

Well not quite as serious as it sounds,does anyone know of such a gismo that might be available for loseing infants that may get lost in a crowd.Was at the bike show in the RDS on Sunday and it occured to me when i lost sight of my 4yr old for about 30secs,was there any thing that could be got for such a case,such as a simple tracking device that would have maybe a 500yrd range or something,as they would be to young for mobile phones or walkie talkies or any thingb that they had to answer or turn on or press a button etc.We are planing to go to the MotoGP in Donnington in July and with a 4/6/8yrs old surely one will go walkabout.....

MagicMarker

They're called eyes, they come with hands afaik.

axel rose

My mother used reins (is that spelled correctly?). I plan on using them on my son, sometimes the old ways are the best.

Mr Bloat

What about those keyring things we had in the eighties/early nineties that could find your missing keys? Whistling would set them beeping so if you lost your keys you start whistling until the thing beeped and voila!
Shove one of those in the kid's pocket and if they wander off, walk around whistling until the thing starts beeping...

Nevyn

If you child is 4 then they are old enough to play "Marco Polo".
Play it at home and in the park, it's like hide and seek but the person who is on calls out
"Marco" and the other person responds "Polo". It's fun and silly and if they do ever then step out of your eye range you can call out "Marco" and usually they will respond and you can get a bead on them again.

I still do this with my two, that way they don't panic, they will respond and I am
not yelling thier name for the world to hear with a rising tone of panic in it.

silja

If you want a technology gadget, this doesn;t reach as far as you want but could be useful in big crowds:
http://www.firefold.com/Wireless-Digital-Child-Tracker-P3409.aspx?afid=67
Some more here: http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/about-child-locators-gps-tracking.html

Acoshla

Hi,

There's a thing called a Loc8tor, its pricey enough (nearly €150) but it's pretty good as those things go, can use it for lots of things so at least you might get a bit more value from it. There's an Irish online shop that sells it too I think

kaa

"Marco Polo".
ya i know the game but what if another parent like youself does that and so does another and both of your kids wander off but isn't there a chance that ye could end up with each others kids and that would panic both people????



There's a thing called a Loc8tor, its pricey enough (nearly €150) but it's pretty good as those things go, can use it for lots of things so at least you might get a bit more value from it. There's an Irish online shop that sells it too I think

that loc8tor thing sounds good, maybe you sound for that.

quich question to spadina on it??? how does it work and if it makes a beep sound would it be loud enough to hear in a busy and noisy place???

Acoshla

@ kaa

It is a loud noise, I have heard it described as "piercing", not ordinarily a good thing but when finding a child in a busy area it's pretty handy. You basically put a locator fob thing in the kids pocket or somewhere they cant remove it, when you need to find them you enter into handset which fob you want to find and it tells you where it is to within inches of it.

littlebitdull

The local chemist near me has a device - it looks like a wee plastic teddy, and it would seem to work in the same way as this locator device. But I am pretty sure its well under the 30 euro mark. I dont know its exact price - as its not something I would have consider buying to be honest.

The chemist is the one in Rathbourne Flats , near the new Superquinn, and the Ashtown train station.

I think at the end of the day, you cant beat having some sort of system with your child, where you either keep a good hold of them, or have a plan worked out. I like Theads idea of 'marco/polo' ...

Nevyn

kaa wrote: »

"Marco Polo".
ya i know the game but what if another parent like youself does that and so does another and both of your kids wander off but isn't there a chance that ye could end up with each others kids and that would panic both people????

Nope cos I know their voices and they know mine.

Mr Bloat

kaa wrote: »

"Marco Polo".
ya i know the game but what if another parent like youself does that and so does another and both of your kids wander off but isn't there a chance that ye could end up with each others kids and that would panic both people????

Thaedydal wrote: »

Nope cos I know their voices and they know mine.

Presumably you'd also know what your kids *look* like so you wouldn't 'end up with each other's kids'? But what if you were in an area with a load of exchange students from Italy? Half them could answer you if you shouted 'Marco'...

Seriously though, in a large, crowded area, what I usually do is look for the tallest structure and tell the kids to look up and head for that if we get separated. I haven't had a chance to test the theory yet because I always watch them like a hawk.
I don't trust trackers or locating devices though. For one, they can make less vigilant people even more complacent. They mightn't watch the kids as much as they normally would because they would rely on the tracker to find them in an emergency. Another reason is that technology is prone to failure when you least expect it. Maybe the tracker or the receiver runs out of batteries or goes out of range? Maybe you're somewhere where a lot of other people have the same tracking device as you and all you pick up is interference from them or other nearby wireless devices? Maybe the kid falls in the panic of realising they are lost and drops it?
Warn the kids to stay close to you and give them clear instructions as to what to do if they get separated, where to go, who to ask for help, etc.

thetyreman

MagicMarker wrote: »

They're called eyes, they come with hands afaik.

What a great suggestion,i never thought of that.




Thanks everyone else for there suggestions,i will look into the Loc8er thing it soun ds good.
I know its not intended as a baby sitter,but no matter how well you watch THEM (as in three kids,the eldest being 7)theres always the chance of one getting distracted,and there is no point in asking for such a devive after the event...

kaa

Thaedydal wrote: »

Nope cos I know their voices and they know mine.

ya i suppose that is true

kaa

Spadina wrote: »

@ kaa

It is a loud noise, I have heard it described as "piercing", not ordinarily a good thing but when finding a child in a busy area it's pretty handy. You basically put a locator fob thing in the kids pocket or somewhere they cant remove it, when you need to find them you enter into handset which fob you want to find and it tells you where it is to within inches of it.

ya sounds very handy for just "incase" situations or a normal outting day because some people just have kids that wander.

well i suppose there would be a down side to it. if the nose is that loud people could panic and stuff. then the child could get more upset.

but no harm in trying something like that though.

lostinnappies

HA HA HA HA this post made me laugh. you could always try one of those key locator things and tie it around his wrist lol.

Joey the lips

I tell you what I do. Have an old mobile with 5 euro of credit in his pocket. Cancel the answer machine and ring it when he gets lost. The good thing is if someone finds him have 2 numbers saved in the phone "my mom" and "my dad"

Cheap effective and virtulally free subscription and no freeky loud noises,

mumof2

Thaedydal wrote: »

If you child is 4 then they are old enough to play "Marco Polo".
Play it at home and in the park, it's like hide and seek but the person who is on calls out
"Marco" and the other person responds "Polo". It's fun and silly and if they do ever then step out of your eye range you can call out "Marco" and usually they will respond and you can get a bead on them again.

I still do this with my two, that way they don't panic, they will respond and I am
not yelling thier name for the world to hear with a rising tone of panic in it.

I like that idea!!:D

lostinnappies

Joey the lips wrote: »

I tell you what I do. Have an old mobile with 5 euro of credit in his pocket. Cancel the answer machine and ring it when he gets lost. The good thing is if someone finds him have 2 numbers saved in the phone "my mom" and "my dad"

Cheap effective and virtulally free subscription and no freeky loud noises,

Ya and for toddlers you can put it in their nappy rofl.
But seriously wouldnt they just lose it?

cuckoo

I have heard of parents making wristbands with their mobile numbers on them, and then training the kids to show them to the someone 'safe' if they get lost at a crowded event.

Joey the lips

lostinnappies wrote: »

Ya and for toddlers you can put it in their nappy rofl.
But seriously wouldnt they just lose it?

Thats fair enough but the size of the phone I put in my childs pocket is fine and he usually wears a jacket or belt.

I am not trying to sell you and idea I am just presenting a cheap novel and safe way to track your child.

But if you have a better idea what the hell I will try it.

towel401

get a pair of pmr446 walkie talkies. the channels are packed with kiddies and their parents on it. well not quite usually only 1 or 2 out of the 8

Overheal

cuckoo wrote: »

I have heard of parents making wristbands with their mobile numbers on them, and then training the kids to show them to the someone 'safe' if they get lost at a crowded event.

this and the marco polo idea dont help if your child manages to be actually snatched though.

One of the first things my mother taught me was how to pee in a potty and break someone's nose

seanybiker

MagicMarker wrote: »

They're called eyes, they come with hands afaik.

My eyes dont have hands.

Joey the lips

Overheal wrote: »

this and the marco polo idea dont help if your child manages to be actually snatched though.

One of the first things my mother taught me was how to pee in a potty and break someone's nose

Nothing much will help. From the OP you can see the purpose of the tracker is to find your kids if you loose them in a crowd. Not track them down if they are kid napped. I think we are going a bit ot when we start doing a chuck norris!

miss no stars

http://www.mobilemonday.net/news/cingular-and-verizon-wireless-drop-control-phones


discontinued in the USA but i'm sure they can be acquired anyway. useful for younger kiddies

mazcon

cuckoo wrote: »

I have heard of parents making wristbands with their mobile numbers on them, and then training the kids to show them to the someone 'safe' if they get lost at a crowded event.

I used to write my number on the back of their hands in case we got separated in a crowd. The two older ones have their own phones now but I still do this for the younger one.