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Iowa State Fair Offers Parents Tracking Device for Kids
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
Who needs a helicopter? Just get a GPS! Credit: MNgilen, Flickr
If you've always wanted to go to the Iowa State Fair, but were afraid you might lose track of your kid amid the crowd, you can rest easy now. Fair organizers are offering parents a device that will help moms and dads keep close tabs on their children while they're on the midway.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the device, called SecuraPal, is small enough to fit in a child's pocket or on a belt loop. If children get lost, all they have to do is press a button to send a text message that sends their location to their parents' mobile phones. And, if that isn't enough security for you, just bring your smart phone along -- users of those devices can also set the SecuraPal to locate their wandering offspring using GPS.
But that's not all it's good for: If Grandma has a tendency to go AWOL, you can get one for her, too. Fair spokeswoman Lori Chappell tells the Tribune that the device would be a convenient way to keep track of elderly guests.
The SecuraPal will run parents $10 a pop. The ability to engage in helicopter parenting while also taking in a life-size sculpture of a cow made entirely out of butter?
Priceless.
Related: Keep Track of Your Kid's Stuff With Cool Labels
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-10-2010 @ 10:27PM
Sifrina said...I have to admit I did want to slip one of these on my son for his first field trip I couldn't chaperone (and, yes, I did call the school afterwards to make sure the entire 2nd grade returned and was accounted for). But seriously, doesn't anyone just hold their small kids' hand (or watch them carefully) while in crowded places anymore? I love the idea of technology helping families and I know kids can sprint off in a millisecond, but if you are using one of these, you can't exactly claim to be a "helicopter parent." But if this helps to locate some wandering child somewhere, I'm all for it.
Reply
8-12-2010 @ 2:55AM
billie said...I agree with the idea that "if you are using one of these, you can't exactly claim to be a "helicopter parent." - in fact, I have been known to use exactly such tools.... but I disagree that it makes me a HeliMom based on the way I use it. Would I get one for my preschooler? Probably not, he stays close enough that he doesn't need one. But when such tools were in their earlier days, and my now-teens were gradeschoolers, we used such things to allow things that they were otherwise too young for. For example... nowadays, if we went to the fair, my older kids (10 to 15) could split off and meet back with us at a certain time. But in that in-between age, where they want to do that, but parents aren't so sure about it, having such a technology behind it can reassure parents until they know that the kid is really ready for it - and knowing that they're on their own, but that there is a backup plan can help a kid gain that last little bit of confidence they need to actually be ready for it.
The potential I see here for HeliParents is for the mom who holds their 3-year-old's hand, has the bungee-cord-wrist-leash on them, and JUST to be sure than no one manages to get past those, slips this little GPS device into their darlings shorts.
Or, perhaps, the one who does allow their 15-year-old to go off on their own, but since you can't let them be TOO independent, of course [wink wink], embarrassed teen has to always have GPS on them. But hey, at least the card with their name, address and phone number can be pinned INSIDE their shirt that way, right?