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Filed under: Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens
What kind of safety device would a completely crazy parent dream up for her kindergartener?
How about a little thing you could strap on the kid's chest -- one part under his shirt, one part over? The part on the outside would look like a mini wallet. It'd have a camera and a GPS in it. That way it could pinpoint where the kid is at any moment, and snap pictures of whatever he's looking at. Or at least whatever his chest is facing. Throughout the day you'd get photos of the classroom, the playground, the bottom of the kid above him on the jungle gym. (Uh -- delete that pretty quickly.)
But that's not really enough, right? I mean, if you only get a photo say, every half hour, what if your child is in serious trouble just five minutes after the last update? You wouldn't know until it was too late! That's why you'd want another little part of the device under his shirt, monitoring his pulse. If his heart started beating harder than usual, the outside device could immediately snap an extra picture and send you an alert. Then you could check to see if he's being kidnapped or perhaps playing a game of tag. Either way, it's good to know, right?
And now you can.
A team of technicians from Japan's University of Tsukuba has developed exactly that device, and they're already testing it on 10 compliant children, ages 2 to 6. The next iteration will include a small microphone, so parents can listen in to their kids' conversation. It will also record and store the chatter. So sometime soon, parents will be able to see, hear, locate and pulse-check their children any time of the day.
Which is sort of where I expected society would be heading.
Remember when I wrote about a mom who let her 5-year-old wait in the children's room while she went upstairs to check out a book? "That mom was crazy!" screamed the comments. "Anything could have happened."
Ah, but if she'd strapped this new gizmo on her kid, maybe the commenters would have cut her a break. After all, she'd still be hovering for those three minutes she was out of the room.
When and if these devices become routine, parents will spend a good portion of their day remotely checking for predators and bullies. Kids will feel naked and scared without their "invisible" protectors. And the only thing lost will be the ability to think about anything except danger. All. The. Time.
How about a little thing you could strap on the kid's chest -- one part under his shirt, one part over? The part on the outside would look like a mini wallet. It'd have a camera and a GPS in it. That way it could pinpoint where the kid is at any moment, and snap pictures of whatever he's looking at. Or at least whatever his chest is facing. Throughout the day you'd get photos of the classroom, the playground, the bottom of the kid above him on the jungle gym. (Uh -- delete that pretty quickly.)
But that's not really enough, right? I mean, if you only get a photo say, every half hour, what if your child is in serious trouble just five minutes after the last update? You wouldn't know until it was too late! That's why you'd want another little part of the device under his shirt, monitoring his pulse. If his heart started beating harder than usual, the outside device could immediately snap an extra picture and send you an alert. Then you could check to see if he's being kidnapped or perhaps playing a game of tag. Either way, it's good to know, right?
And now you can.
A team of technicians from Japan's University of Tsukuba has developed exactly that device, and they're already testing it on 10 compliant children, ages 2 to 6. The next iteration will include a small microphone, so parents can listen in to their kids' conversation. It will also record and store the chatter. So sometime soon, parents will be able to see, hear, locate and pulse-check their children any time of the day.
Which is sort of where I expected society would be heading.
Remember when I wrote about a mom who let her 5-year-old wait in the children's room while she went upstairs to check out a book? "That mom was crazy!" screamed the comments. "Anything could have happened."
Ah, but if she'd strapped this new gizmo on her kid, maybe the commenters would have cut her a break. After all, she'd still be hovering for those three minutes she was out of the room.
When and if these devices become routine, parents will spend a good portion of their day remotely checking for predators and bullies. Kids will feel naked and scared without their "invisible" protectors. And the only thing lost will be the ability to think about anything except danger. All. The. Time.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-09-2010 @ 11:09AM
Alicia said...Okay. That's it. I am never having children ever in my entire life. Parents are too crazy and I refuse to have CPS called on me because I let my child play. Stupid stupid stupid.
Reply
11-09-2010 @ 5:14PM
carla said...It's not 'stupid' if you're one of the thousands of parents who have their child abducted each year.
11-09-2010 @ 9:05PM
Jen said...@Carla: It's that kind of statement exactly that causes the problem. Most abductions occur by a person known to the child and family, not a total stranger. Our society doesn't think "Gee, millions of children were completely safe this year", it thinks "every child is very likely to be abducted, raped and murdered if we don't watch them constantly."
I absolutely hate the "worst first" mentality.
11-09-2010 @ 7:08PM
Alicia said...You mean one of the most who have their child abducted by a friend or family member? Or how about the thousands of children molested each year...by people in their families and by family friends. Because the group you trust the most statistically poses the largest threat to children, but you're not going to stop talking to friends or family, are you? Of course not. So to hover and leave your child completely dependent on you because they have never once been allowed to be alone in their life is just as stupid as giving up friends and family, in case one is a pedophile or child-stealer.
11-10-2010 @ 10:41AM
Mom2Four said...OMG... "Thousands of kids abducted every year"... There ya go - myths perpetuated, the line between CSI and reality completely blurred.
So glad I know the world is as safe (if not safer) than when I was growing up in the 70's.... my kids actually get to LIVE and EXPLORE and LEARN, without a leash or bubble wrap!
11-09-2010 @ 1:30PM
Maureen said...Extremes exist in all sectors of society.
There are people who call themselves free-range but who take it to irresponsible extremes, as well. (Just as overprotectiveness can be irresponsible parenting)
Of course, most people dwell in the area in between the extremes.
Reply
11-10-2010 @ 10:26AM
Anne said...This seems like a great device for use in prison poulations, or on advancing front line soldiers in remote territories, but on children? on the playground? at school? Wow. Might as well just quit your job and go to school with them. Better yet, homeschool them. And don't let them outside. Ever.
Reply
11-10-2010 @ 10:27AM
aidel said...That is sick. Totally sick. Don't children have the right to have their own, private experience of the world? How will they gain mastery of their surroundings? We will need some new laws to protect the privacy of children. And for parents who would use such a device: get a life, as the kids say.
Reply
11-11-2010 @ 2:51PM
Hafidha said...I think it's wackadoo and a sad thing, but I don't think they will become "routine" like this author suggests. ; there are already plenty of monitoring devices available now for kids/people and they aren't selling out or being purchased by everyone. It's not typical to have video cameras in kids' rooms or backyards. There are monitoring devices available for cell phones and clothing, but I don't know of anyone who has one. The reality is that at least 15% of kids aged 5-14 come home from school to an empty house. That's a few million children - far more significant than ten kids wearing a prototype device. In our culture, children are more neglected (or abused) than overprotected. So I'm not worried about this becoming standard parenting procedure.
Reply
11-10-2010 @ 1:09PM
Jim Pivonka said...Over controlling boyfriend/husband will install these on girlfriend or wife. They might also track prisoner behavior (and the "institutionalized").
Reply