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Looking for an App to Help With Tracking Kids? Here Are a Few Options!

track kids app

Global positioning satellite (GPS) technology is making smartphone based monitoring an exciting new option for many parents. There are dozens of apps and options that can be used for parents to track kids. With the explosion of smartphone usage, multiple tracking and parenting apps are being released frequently. Here are a few apps for tracking kids, and some information on each of them.

MamaBear Child Tracking:

Pros: MamaBear was developed as an all in one solution to child tracking and monitoring. MamaBear offers GPS tracking and numerous options for location based alerts, including when a child enters specified restricted areas, or leaves designated areas early. MamaBear also monitors driving speed and taps into social media, offering parents even more information. It’s also cross-platform so a child can be on an Android device and a parent on a iOS device or vice versa.

Cons: MamaBear is relatively new and still in the public beta testing. Users may experience occasional bugs. However, with every new update, which is rather frequently, the MamaBear team is working to correct all known issues with the app on Android and iPhone devices. Because the MamaBear app is in beta testing, it is free to download and use. This makes it a favorite for many parents. We will continue improving and updating the functionality of the app, making it the #1 choice for parents who want to worry less about their children!

 

Amber Alert GPS:

Pros: Amber Alert was one of the first child tracking GPS services available to parents. The original Amber Alert locator used a GPS fob to communicate to a parent’s phone.

Cons: Amber Alert has released only offers parents basic location tracking services. In addition, when using the GPS fob, the child can easily lose the fob.

 

Footprints:

Pros: Footprints uses a wide range of iPhone functionality and includes specific location alerts. Footprints can alert a parent when a child leaves a designated location, or when a child goes on the move. It can also save a record of locations to give a parent an overall view of a child’s movements for the day.

Cons: Footprints is only available on iOS and requires a yearly subscription fee.

 

GPS Tracking Pro:

Pros: GPS Tracking Pro does an effective job of phone tracking via GPS. Parents can track a child via a web site and can use the site to find a lost or stolen phone.

Cons: GPS Tracking Pro is only available for Android phones and only offers basic GPS location services.

 

NQ Family Guardian:

Pros: NQ Family Guardian is an Android app that is still in the testing stages. NQ Family Guardian tracks the child’s location, online activities and offers several device filters and controls. Currently NQ Family guardian is free for 30 days and then requires a subscription fee.

Cons: It is only available for Android phones, and user reviews suggest it does not work on the newest model Samsung phones running Android Jellybean.

 

SecuraPhone:

Pros: SecuraPhone claims to use real time GPS monitoring and tracking to issue alerts on location and speed. A unique feature on the Android version of SecuraPhone prevents children from texting while driving.

Cons: At almost $10.00 monthly, SecuraPhone is not cheap, and many of the options are more suited to business monitoring than children.

 

If you are looking for an app to help track your kids, the apps listed above should meet your needs.

The MamaBear child tracker app is available free on Android and Iphone devices.

Download the app at the links below:

MamaBear child tracker app for Android

MamaBear child tracker app for Iphone

 

New GPS technology is making smartphone based monitoring an exciting new option for parents. There are dozens of apps that can be used to track kids. Here are a few.
Track Kids Apps
Date Published: 02/04/2013
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Happy New Year From MamaBear

Happy New Year from the MamaBear team! Well . . . do you have your New Year’s Resolutions planned?  They are so hard to stick to, right? It’s hard because it’s discipline. Ultimately, New Year’s resolutions are all about discipline and accountability. Working out when we say we’re going to work out. Skipping fries when we say we’re going to cut carbs. Consistency is hard to maintain with new habits. We’ve all broken a few resolutions here or there, and we all know how hard it can be to maintain constant discipline.

If we, as adults, have a hard time with discipline, it is no wonder that our kids battle with it just as much. It’s human nature to want to explore and push boundaries. I haven’t found a parent yet that says, “My kids do exactly what they are supposed to after being told just one time.” As many parents know, it’s about consistent reinforcement.

Obviously we feel that keeping a watchful eye on our children is a good idea – it’s why we created the MamaBear app in the first place. But remember, no one is perfect. Not us as parents and certainly not our children. If we can’t keep our own New Year’s resolutions every time, then maybe we can show some empathy when we feel overwhelmed by our words of repetitive discipline.

We encourage parents to use MamaBear as a tool to gather information. Information to have continued, relevant, consistent conversations about important issues like appropriate behavior on social media, why certain places are off limits and why accountability is important. It’s not hard to teach kids the importance of showing up for practice when they say they will. It just takes consistent reinforcement, even when a child strays a bit.

Going over the speed limit, visiting places we’d rather our kids not visit or perhaps taking a day off school without you knowing are ways boundaries could be tested. We all tested our boundaries growing up, now we have tools like MamaBear that give us vital information to talk about consequences. Tools to give our children consistent and empathetic dialog when they push against our boundaries in the New Year.  Make it a great 2013!

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New Phones – Happy Kids – Anxious Parents

social media tracking

I’m sure you experienced pure delight on your child’s face when they unwrapped their new phone! Now it’s time to decide what parenting measures you need to protect them while they have a new, very powerful piece of technology. Many parents turn to monitoring apps, also known as parental control apps, as well as measures to keep the child from tampering with the monitoring tools. Follow this quick and easy advice on setting up and choosing the right parenting restrictions and monitoring for a child’s new phone.

Device Restrictions:

On iPhones:

– Go to the “Settings” app on the phone and click “General”
– Scroll down to select “Restrictions”
– After clicking “Enable Restrictions” and entering a private passcode, parents can set up restrictions for usage, content, location and more.
– Switch the button off for “Deleting Apps” to prevent the child from tampering with any apps meant for monitoring, like the MamaBear App.

On Android supported devices:

– Go to the Google Play store and click on “Settings”
– Select content filtering to allow your preferred maturity level
– Lock the settings, by touching ‘Set or Change PIN’ in the Google Play “Settings” area
– Unlike device settings on Apple, you’ll need to turn to the App Store to install apps to provide similar device restrictions
– For instance, the Kid’s Place app sets what apps you want your child to be able to open, limiting device features.

Content:

On an iPhone in the restrictions area described above you can restrict content of music, movies, shows, and apps based on the child’s age.

On Android devices they allow filtering by maturity level. You can see how they define maturity level here: http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1075738
Using the MamaBear App can bring to parent’s attention use of “restricted” words deemed by the parent on Facebook and Instagram.

Usage:

Typically usage restrictions, like limiting text messaging, phone calls and data is best done by contacting the service carrier for the individual device. There are also apps available that can restrict phone usage while driving like the DriveSmart app.

Location:

For many parents a useful feature of their kid’s GPS enabled smartphone is knowing where they are and where they’ve been. The MamaBear App parenting app is invaluable in this regard, offering real time monitoring and location alerts. Parents can access all of the alerts functions through the settings menu. Driving alerts use a simple on or off interface and allows parents to choose a maximum speed. Though you may want some apps to use your child’s location to take advantage of specific features, not all apps need to know your child’s location.

On iPhone go to “Settings” then “General” and then “Privacy.” Tap on location services to see all the apps that are using the location of the phone. If it’s necessary for the app to have location services leave it on. If not, you can turn off location services for particular apps.

On Android, go to “Settings” and click “Apps.” You’ll need to click each app to see if they have location permission.

Using these simple tips will help parents keep their new smartphone users safe and give their kids some freedom with their new best friends. I promise they won’t be leaving home without it.

MamaBear is available on the Google Play store for Android phones and in the Apple App Store for iOS enabled phones and devices.

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Step-By-Step Guide To Getting Started With The MamaBear App

Child Tracking

MamaBear installs easily and parents can begin monitoring a child’s location, driving speed and social media activity immediately. Here is a step-by-step guide to getting started with the MamaBear app for iPhone and Android.

1. Download the App on the primary parent’s phone

The MamaBear child monitoring app is available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Just search for MamaBear and click install. The Android or iOS web enabled smartphone or device will do the rest.

2. Sign Up

Once the app is downloaded on the parent’s phone, click on the icon from your home screen to open the app and then click “Sign Up” to create an account and add your family members.
*Note: add the phone number and/or e-mail address you want to monitor as the child. Added guardians will have the same parental view as the main account holder. The main account holder and guardians will only be able to view children’s location and alerts, not each others.

3. Download the MamaBear App on the child’s phone

Download MamaBear from google play or the iTunes App Store on your child’s phone. Select Log In. DO NOT select sign up. Log In with your child’s phone number and your password. The child will see three safety features on their view of the MamaBear App – Check In, Come Get Me, Emergency buttons for a discreet way of getting in touch with you.

4. Ensure the MamaBear App stays put

If your child closes MamaBear out of memory or deletes the app on their phone, you won’t receive location points. You will receive a notification if this happens and a check-in request button will appear when you tap your child’s icon if we haven’t received a location point from their phone in a while.

Here’s a video to help set up parental restrictions on iphone to prevent deleting apps:  Click Here To Watch

You can monitor Facebook and Instagram activity without your child logging in to the app. You’ll simply need their log in and password for each social site.

5. Set Up location, driving and social media alerts

On the parent’s phone MamaBear version, click on “Settings” (it’s the button that looks like a gear on the top right). Select your child under the “Family” tab. You will see the easy-to-follow options for setting up alerts for location, social media driving. Location alerts include a school alert, a safe places alert or a restricted places alert. Monitor Facebook and Instagram activity including restricted words alerts. Lastly set the driving sped you’d like to be alerted to if your child drives or rides over. Once opened, each of these alerts menu options has more in depth options for parents to use.

Child Tracker setup

6. Choose alert delivery type

Once the alerts are set up, it is just a matter of choosing your notification preference. In the “Settings” menu simply click “Edit Profile.” Scroll down to “Alert Type” to choose your preferred notification. Email alerts are delivered via email while Push based notification delivers alerts directly to the phone’s notification center. Push notification is the default alert types for MamaBear.

With these easy steps, parents are prepared with information and insight using the MamaBear child monitoring app. If you ever have any questions about using MamaBear, don’t hesitate to email us at info@localhost.