Tracker for High School child

[nosmartphone]

Hi After some recommendations.

As username suggests, DD does not have a smartphone for high school. She has a new NOKIA which she can make free calls and free texts unlimited on. Sensible child and she's happy with this. Phones are banned in school anyway.

However, I could do with some sort of way of tracking her if for whatever reason she doesn't come out on time/phone dies etc (doubt it as it's got 5 days battery life!) Her school is 9 miles away, not on a bus route so I have to collect/drop off but also have another child 3 miles from that school to collect after her.

Her phone will not take apps so the likes of Life 360 not an option.

I have an android phone so can't so Apple Tags.

Is there anything suitable for android that works in the same way? I've had a quick google but can't work out whether the tags would work out and about or they're only suitable for finding your car keys in the house!

Any recommendations would be appreciated thank you.

My youngest is in Y8 and told me recenlty that he really likes Life 360 because he knows that someone is making their way to the station to pick him up, even if we are usually late 😋

He finds it reassuring, as the youngest child in a very busy family, where one of us has to try and get away from WFH to pick him up, or an older sibling might be getting him while going past. Its certainly an improvement on my older children who just had text messaging and would spam me with 'mum, where are you', 'mum how long will you be?' etc from the moment I left the house, which was really annoying and distracting while driving.

@AIstolemylunch why didn't you just text when you set off with an ETA?

Yes, those messages were after i'd texted leaving with an ETA .... the school is a 40 min drive away, traffic was unpredictable, I dont text while driving and they were very impatient kids! Its much better now with location sharing and speech to text in the car for my younger ones.

PAYG sim is with Giff Gaff. Free unlimited phone calls and free texts for £8 a month.

School is not nearest. It's 9 miles away, it's their feeder school for their primary but we are just over the border in another county (problem with a lot of rural areas) There's not just no free bus, there's no bus at all. If child had EHCP they would provide a taxi.

She has a laptop. She uses my phone from time to time but obviously the algorithyms on my phone ensure she's unlikely to see anything too bad.

Honestly. I work with young children. One of my 11 year olds was sent a video of a graphic sex. How the hell do you unsee that?

The dumbphone cannot receive videos or photos. Nothing can be shared.

I've had plenty of conversations with her about how other children will probably try to show her stuff - she knows she can turn the other way. You can't turn the other way when it's been sent to your phone and it's been clicked on and playing on your phone in your house before you know what it is.

That's before we get onto how many 11 /12 year olds are taking photographs of themselves in underwear and sending it around.

You simply can't do that on a dumbphone.

I disagree that the 'bad stuff' can be accessed on tablets. It can't in my house.

No snapchat. No instagram. No whatsapp. If someone doesn't want to be friends with her because she can't access those, then they're not the type of child she should be friends with tbh. So far so good at high school. Phones are banned and no one is even asking for her number.

What age? Well, I will let her lead that tbh. Even if I do get her a smartphone, it will be locked right down. Why anyone would just hand a smartphone to a child is simply beyond me. You're the parent, be in charge. But then I see the bad side of it day in day out. Most parents are simply deluded as to what their child has seen, accessed or is doing on their smartphone. Most are hiding apps or deleting and readding them keeping it a secret from parents or simply having another phone their parent doesn't know about. All of my children are under no illusion from my job that they will ever have full privacy on a smartphone whilst they are under 18 and living in my house. They also know that if they ever get a phone I know nothing about to access unsafe material it will be the last time it happens! I clean/tidy their rooms and take them every evening for their sports. They are all good kids. They all understand it's to keep them safe. Wiser than most adults tbh. They're all more interested in reading and sport anyway than social media at the minute thank god.

https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk

I follow this. Other suggestions of good phones are on here.

or simply having another phone their parent doesn't know about.

This is the reality of what happens when children are ostracised by their parents’ choices. You know this happens and I’m sure those parents also thought their child wouldn’t get another phone either. Unfortunately the reality of what children get up and what parents believe their child will get up to rarely align.

Moto have just recently released an airtag equivalent that piggybacks off android phones like airtags do off iPhones. Early days yet so I'm not sure how reliable it will be, especially in a rural area, but it should improve rather than not, and it doesn't require subscription or tonnes of battery.

Of course these things are only as good as the signal they get, so take it with a big pinch of salt.

I think the most important thing is having a Plan B and C agreed for days this gs go pear shaped. Also she should learn your number so she can call you from a friend's phone if needed, and similarly make sure you know her number.

I put an AirTag in DDs bag as sometimes I have to leave her at school early when I need to go to work (she waits on the playground). It means I know she's not wandered off to the park.

@Franticbutterfly "It means I know she's not wandered off to the park."

1. What would you do if she had?
2. Why are you leaving her alone in the playground if she's young enough to matter if she does?

@Franticbutterfly I put an AirTag in DDs bag as sometimes I have to leave her at school early when I need to go to work (she waits on the playground). It means I know she's not wandered off to the park.

You don't know that though. All you know is she hasn't taken her bag to the park. She could dump the bag on the school playground and then wander off...

@CurlewKate @CSanDiego

It's more for peace of mind, I can see the icon move so I have a pretty good idea where she is and if she is in her classroom when she should be.

The Mumsnet pile on always makes me laugh. The desire to make another mother "wrong" for their actions astounds me. The fact is I leave my child 5-10 mins early if I have to get to work on time once or twice a week. Obviously I'd rather not but needs must. I Chuck an AirTag in her bag so I have a rough idea she is where she should be, it's not perfect, but what is?

Also she's almost 11 so it's not like she's a really little one. I intend to start letting her walk the half mile home after school from next week too. I think back to the freedoms I had at the same age and it terrifies me that my children don't have anywhere near the same autonomy. I think it's really sad actually.

@Franticbutterfly "The fact is I leave my child 5-10 mins early if I have to get to work on time once or twice a week. "

Obviously this is absolutely fine for a 10 year old. I wrongly assumed she must be much younger.

What you're suggesting should be illegal, in my opinion. It's a total invasion of privacy that people deserve at that age.