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A father’s perspective of using a child tracking app

child tracking app father

I am a new father. With hawk like vision, I spend most of my days transfixed on my new son’s whereabouts, barely letting him break the unseen six foot boundary I have created in my own mind.

This can’t last forever though, sooner or later, I will have to let go, and watch helplessly as my son embarks on his journey into adolescence and beyond.

Do I have to let go fully though?

In the digital age, it is just about possible to keep tabs on anyone with an iPhone, and with social media becoming bigger and more advanced, it takes only seconds to let the world know exactly where you are, who you are with, and what you are doing.

As an adoptive father, I know all too well the security risks posed by social media. My own son’s identity is kept secret for very good reasons, but when the time comes for my son to broaden his horizons, I have no qualms with using a tracking app.

If technology has made parents paranoid, it is not necessarily a bad thing. It is the same technology that is used to groom, manipulate, and take advantage of children. The easier it gets for us to announce our arrival in a foreign country via our mobile phone, the easier it is for children to take that one last, lost step.

More fool you if you think a tracking app is a step too far.

The use of such an app needs to be managed however. It is not a tool to be used to trap your disobedient children, but a safeguard to ensure they can take part in all of life’s fun without the fear of becoming isolated.

I would like to think it can be used with children, rather than against them.

My son is very young, and it is not time to empower myself with this kind of technology, but that doesn’t mean I can’t prepare myself. Who knows where advancements in technology will take us over the next ten or twenty years. It is my responsibility to keep on top of it, at least, for my child’s sake.

 

By:

Andrew McDougall

http://www.theonehandman.co.uk/

The article above was from a MamaBear guest blogger. The MamaBear blog is now accepting guest post from reputable bloggers on a variety of subjects. If you are interested in guest blogging for MamaBear simply contact us here.

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So You’re Searching For a Kid Tracker – Where Should You Look?

kid-tracker

When you’re looking for an option for kid tracker technology, it can often mean that you’re moving beyond what you feel is your normal range of monitoring. This can be because you’re giving your kid some added responsibility, like driving or an extended curfew. It can also mean that you’re worried about where your child is and if they’re safe. We developed the MamaBear kid tracker app to give parents an easy option, no matter what reason you need to track your kid.

So where should you look and what should you look for in a kid tracker device or app?

Searching online is usually the best tool for finding options in a kid tracker app or device. Child tracking devices and apps are still a relatively new concept and aren’t too commonly available. Search engines offer us several options for kid trackers, but a wide range of options doesn’t always mean a wide range of effective solutions when we’d like to track our children. The Google Play Store provides options like the MamaBear kid tracker app for Android powered phones. The Apple App Store provides options for iPhones and other iOS enabled devices.

For a new and growing technology like kid tracker devices and apps, the web seems like the obvious choice for both shopping and research. Popular search engines provide answers to all sorts of parenting questions, including options when it comes to tracking our kids. Search engines can provide a broad range of options for research sake, but often have so many items at such varied costs that it can be difficult to come to a decision. That’s why many parents opt to use a smartphone as a kid tracker. A smartphone is a simple solution that the child will be happy to carry on them at all times.

Smartphones work wonders for kid trackers, and that means finding apps.

The Google Play Store and the Apple App store are good places to find all sorts of parenting apps. Both app retailers offer approved apps parents can trust. MamaBear is available on both the Google Play Store and the App Store and offers several options for parents to track their kids online and in the real world. The MamaBear app is an effective solution to turn a smartphone into a parenting tool and is a great example of an app being used as a kid tracker.

No matter what your reason is for needing a kid tracker, MamaBear is there to help. Our child monitoring app has received extensive media coverage, and we’re glad to offer our app for free during our current public beta test.

Download the MamaBear kid tracker app for Android here

Download the MamaBear kid tracker app for Iphone here