Posted on 08/22/2006 7:00:27 AM PDT by VRWCmember
Helicopter parents.
It's the scornful label some give to parents who seem to hover over their kids, unwilling to trust them to handle even the simplest situation on their own.
But in the age of GPS, parents no longer need to do the hovering themselves. Parents can be nosier than they ever thought possible, for a price.
Helicopter parents, meet satellite parents.
What were once the tracking tools of spies and private investigators are now being offered to mainstream America, specifically parents who want to keep constant track of their kids in real time. Already, millions of families have discovered the meddlesome capabilities of their children's mobile phones.
When looking after his 11-year-old great-grandson, Harrell Malone of Fort Worth finds it helpful that the boy has a cellphone. "When he's allowed to go somewhere, he has to check in," Malone said. "It provides a longer leash."
Several cellphone companies are beginning to promote their handsets' GPS tracking capabilities.
The most aggressive has been Disney, whose cellphone service, Disney Mobile, debuted in June. The phones' Family Locator feature allows parents to see, via their own phone or a password-protected Web site, the location of their child's phone on a map. The service allows five free Family Locator requests per month, with additional requests costing 49 cents each.
Disney Mobile uses Sprint's wireless network, and Sprint sells the same Family Locator service on its phones. This year, Verizon began offering Chaperone, a tracking service for $9.99 a month that works on its LG Migo phones for kids.
The systems aren't foolproof. Kids can turn off their phones or leave them where their parents expect them to be and go somewhere else.
Daniel Sui, a geography professor at Texas A&M University, has studied the ethical implications of GPS tracking. He said he expects many parents to be enticed by such services. The danger is if someone else gains access to the information, such as by stealing a parent's cellphone or learning the password to the tracking site, he said.
Nonetheless, companies see a large market for parents interested in checking the exact whereabouts of their kids at any time, said Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group. "Parents are willing to pay a premium for more control," Beemer said.
But high-tech child surveillance goes beyond cellphones.
Spy Supply in North Richland Hills specializes in selling night-vision goggles and hidden security cameras.
Since the store opened, nearly five years ago, it has also sold GPS vehicle-tracking equipment, founder Mike Wilcher said. The main customers have traditionally been companies wanting to keep track of a fleet of vehicles. Wilcher said that in the past year, he's seen a dramatic increase in the number of parents purchasing the devices to track their kids.
"It's price-driven, and I would say that's the No. 1 factor," Wilcher said. "What used to be $4,000 can now be obtained for as little as $600 or $700."
That amount will get you a live tracking device that can be covertly attached to a vehicle. Parents can check online or, depending on the product, even by cellphone to see where the car is, Wilcher said. Some devices can also alert parents if a vehicle travels too far or too fast. If, say, it exceeds 65 mph at night or leaves Tarrant County, the parent can be notified instantly by mobile text message or e-mail. Such devices usually come with a monthly fee.
Parents who are more price-conscious or perhaps less protective can purchase logging devices. Usually costing less than $400, they record where a vehicle goes but don't relay the information instantly. The owner has to periodically remove the device from the car and connect it to a computer to see on a map where the vehicle has been.
About half of the parents who purchase trackers from the store choose live tracking devices, Wilcher said. He said they probably have reasons to need real-time tracking of the family car.
"If you've got a real hooligan for a 16-year-old who just got a new 2006 Mustang ... perhaps you want to track him live," Wilcher said.
Texas law prohibits installing a device to track another person's vehicle, Sui said. However, as long as parents are putting the devices on vehicles they own, it's legal, he said.
Dr. Michael Popkin, an Atlanta-based therapist and author of the Active Parenting series of books, said parents are smart to employ technology to keep track of kids but must be upfront about it.
"When you start hiding bugs in your kid's car, then you're saying, 'We don't trust you,' and you're saying, 'You can't really trust us either, because we're being sneaky about it,'" Popkin said.
The Tracking Corp., based in Dallas, has recently seen firsthand parents' growing interest in sophisticated surveillance equipment. The company makes GPS products, mostly for companies to track their assets.
One hand-held device used to track vehicles was originally made for private investigators, said Peter Stamos, the company's chief executive.
The Sharper Image approached the company this year about refashioning the product for parents, Stamos said.
The Locate 1 began selling on SharperImage.com this month for about $500. It's about the size of a cellphone and provides levels of real-time tracking for a monthly fee of $15 to $50.
Parents offer different reasons for wanting the device, Stamos said.
"The high-profile reason is to protect their kids from predators," Stamos said. "I think for the majority of buyers, the real reason is to just make sure kids are going to stay out of trouble."
Stamos said his company is developing smaller tracking devices, in anklets, chokers and wristbands, for example, so parents can track smaller children.
Big-box retailers are expressing interest in the company's products, he said.
"What we are truly selling is safety, security and peace of mind," Stamos said.
Nara King of Frisco is also taking advantage of the tracking boom. This summer, the Web designer started an online business, Invincakid.com. The site sells child-locating devices from dozens of technology vendors.
King was inspired to start the business after hearing about Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl in Florida who was killed in 2005.
King recently began using a tracking device on her 2-year-old. Giggle Bug, which she also sells on her site, attaches to her son's clothes and looks like a small toy.
If King lost track of her child, she could push a button on a remote control transmitter, and the device would start beeping loudly. The product also beeps if removed.
King said it provides her with extra peace of mind.
"People want to know where their loved ones are. It's just a dangerous world out there," King said.
Or shoes! The don't need them either. Let them walk around barefoot long enough and their feet will get calloused so they won't need shoes. And don't get me started on indoor toilets! They can empty a chamber pot as good as any ...
/sarcasm
my 15 yo son was complaining about his prepaid cellphone and i said, listen, if i could get two telephone cans and a piece of string to work for what you need it for, that's what you'd have : )
Looks like it might be a little tougher out there now than in 1960 to me.
Using statistics to justify our paranoia now, are we? ;-)
(I don't actually believe that; just feel like stirring the pot).
There is a name for people like you..... ;^)
They condemn parents for acting the way they want government to act.
Liberals have labeled helicopter parents as bad and too controlling. We see ourselves as watchful and there if they need us.
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