Child GPS Locators

When my wife and I were pregnant with our first child we took a trip to Mall of America in Minneapolis, because we knew it would be a while before we could get away again. While we were there a woman near us started screaming hysterically. She was calling her son’s name and frantically running around trying to find him. He was located by one one of the shop owners and they were reunited, but it really got us thinking. What if she hadn’t been so lucky and what if it had been us?

I have always been a geek and frequently look to technology to solve a problem. In this case I was not disappointed as technology already has a tool to address the fact that 800,000 children go missing each year. I was introduced to the GPS child locator. These tracking devices employ GPS and cell phone technology.

The Amber Alert GPS is one such example. It is comprised of a pager sized device that can be slipping easily into your child’s pocket. Right away you are sent a detailed map of your child’s location to your cell phone. At any time you can request a location from the GPS and you are instantly provided with a map including that information.

The models are reasonably priced and require modest monthly subscriptions. In my opinion these things are the same as getting fire insurance on your house. You just do it and no price would be too high for the piece of mind I have knowing I will not have to feel the terror that women felt in the Mall of America.