ionKids Child Monitoring System: The Blogging Baby review

There's been a lot of talk in the news about using GPS systems to track your child's whereabouts. The ionKids System from Bluespan takes a slightly different approach to child monitoring. Instead of telling you precisely where your child is located in a town or city, it uses point-to-point technology to maintain a proximity radius. The ionKids System consists of a single monitoring device and up to four wristags. Using the monitor, you can set a "safety zone" of up to 350 feet; if any child wanders out of their zone, ionKids triggers an alarm. A Find button activates the locator, which helps you zoom in on your straying child. The base system - one monitor, one wristag - sells for $169.95 through Bluespan's site, payable in five monthly installments of $39.95.

It sounds great in theory. How does it work in practice? Bluespan recently sent Blogging Baby a demonstration kit. I put it to the test this weekend, using my six-year-old son Jaxon as a test subject. All in all, the device faired well - though a few design improvements with the physical product are in order.

Setup

Setting up the product was easy. The first order of business was charging both the monitor and the wristag. The ionKids kit includes a nifty "octopus" charger that lets you plug up to eight chargeable devices into a single outlet - a necessity if you're using more than one wristag. I just had the one wristag that came with the demonstration kit, so I let both devices charge up overnight.

The next morning I was ready to put the wristag on Jaxon. He often instigates adventures down our long driveway when he's outside playing, so I decided to see if the device would tell me when he was getting too close to the street.

First, I had to get the wristag on his wrist. Ah, the wristag. This was the most vexing part of this product. First off, let me say that all of my kids thought the wristag was super-cool, and they all wanted to take turns wearing it. So there's no lack of enthusiasm. Also, in the picture shown, you see the wristag as it's shipped, with its innards showing through the clear plastic front. The kit actually comes with a pack of stickers, allowing each kid to select the "face" that he or she wants for the wristag. All in all, a very smart design.

What vexed me was getting it on and off. I found it hard to tighten the sucker to the point where it (1) didn't slip off of my son's wrist when he wanted to yank it off and (2) didn't cause him unbearable pain. The monitor has a tamper sensor that goes off if someone tries to undo the security latch while the system's active. When I tested the wristag by itself, the TAMPER alarm sounded because no one was wearing it; however, when Jaxon was wearing it, he managed to slip it over his hand and off of his wrist, and the alarm never sounded. At any rate, securing the wristag is critical, but extremely difficult. The latch wouldn't even clasp when I tried to put it on my eight-year-old daughter's wrist unless I was willing to turn it into a Medieval torture device, and my four-year old daughter wouldn't stay still long enough for me to tighten it. 

Then there's the matter of the security latch. The wristag has a buckle, and the buckle won't unfasten until you use a special plastic tool that slips out of the back of the monitor. Here's a picture of where this plastic tool used to be. Why isn't it there anymore? Well, if you're not careful when you put it back in the monitor, it won't stick, and will fall out - and good luck finding that once you've lost it. I'm still looking for mine. It would be better if this tool were fastened to the monitor so you could slide it out when you needed it.

Luckily for panicked parents, the security latch is just a small metal bar that can be pushed back using a toothpick or other small, pointed object. Of course, if you can do this, so can a predator. Good thing they have that tamper alarm, eh?

Activation

Once I had the wristag on Jaxon, I activated the system. The six buttons on the device aren't intuitive as to their function, so I had to follow the instructions carefully. The monitor has to be held steadily against the wristag in order to activate it, and takes about seven seconds to become attuned to the watch; the wristag will flash a green light and beep when this process succeeds.

At that point, you'll see a screen that shows up to four wristags simultaneously. You're prompted to assign a name to each watch so you don't have to remember who "Tag1" is. The monitor remembers the names you've used in the past, so you can re-assign them to a wristag the next time you use it without having to re-key anything.

The monitoring screen shows each child as a bar that grows as his or her distance from the device increases. The limit of the safety zone is marked by a horizontal bar that cuts across all four slots; the bar can be raised or lowered using arrow keys on the right side.

Usage

Once we got through all of that, I put the system to the test. I was fairly impressed by how well it worked. It took only a few seconds to determine the appropriate range that would let Jaxon play outside safely. The maximum range of the device - 350 feet - was just enough to trigger an alarm when he went too close to the end of the driveway. The device flashes red and emits a terrible beep which can't be ignored, while the text on the screen instructs you to use the gigantic "Find" button hidden under the monitor's flip cover. Hitting "Find" triggers a circular "radar" screen" that helps you in on your child's exact position. (You can also use the Find button in non-emergency situations, i.e., when your child is still in range of the device.)

A nice added touch: the wristag also beeps and flashes when the child goes out of range. When this happened with Jaxon, he noticed immediately, and ran back toward the house. I thought it a nice added feature that I didn't have to find him myself! (Caveat: I can see this backfiring in a mall or other crowded situation, where the child might get confused and head in the opposite direction.)

But since Bluespan only sent me one wristag, I don't feel like I got to test the product's full potential. It's easy to keep track of one child at the park; it's when you're responsible for two, three, or four that this system would most come in handy. I also wonder how well the system works when you're monitoring multiple children, and multiple alarms trigger at once.

Conclusion

ionKids is no replacement for attentive parenting. And there are situations in which its use is not feasible. The range of the device makes it too limited to use in wide open spaces. We have several parks nearby with huge grassy areas - the kids would be entering and leaving the 350 foot radius constantly. This system is best used in close quarters - shopping malls, short walks - where wandering outside of this tight radius could spell big trouble.

That said, ionKids can be an effective solution for keeping your kids close and safe, while also giving them a degree of freedom. Is this worth $169.95 ($249.95 for the family kit with four wristags, payable in five installments of $49.95)? Honestly, I would probably opt for the good ol'-fashioned solution of keeping my head pulled out of my ass when I'm out with my kids. Still, even I've had the occasional scary moment when I've looked around feverishly wondering where one of my brood was. If you have the scratch, ionKids might buy you the piece of mind you need to survive a family outing without suffering a stroke.