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AIBU?

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Original poster

Why arent we all tagging our kids?

227 replies

COL1N · 18/02/2022 19:10

Just reading up on buying an airtag as always losing stuff & started thought process of getting one to sew into DDs coat. She is only 2 so not a privacy/ stalking type issue I dont think- just if the worst happened and she was snatched or lost I could find her easily. Why doesn't everyone just do this as standard?!

OP posts:
FlossMoss · 18/02/2022 19:59

@springisaroundthecorner

Is this something that's also made for Android ?

No.

My dc, dh and I all have find my phone on our phones. We all use it to see where each other are when we want. I use it mostly to see if dh has left work so I know what time to aim for with dinner without having to ask every time. I used to use it to get a notification when my youngest got home from school but she's 15 now so I don't bother.

I work on standby sometimes and I can't answer my phone when I'm at work so my dc can look on their phones when they get home from school and see where I am if they want to. Saves me having to send a text if I go to work after they have gone to school.

So for us, it's a way of lessening the unnecessary information and nagging.

None of us would ever look and say 'I see you were in Greggs today, what were you doing there' because that's not how we are with each other.

My oldest has an AirTag on her car keys as she's always leaving them in different places.

I wouldn't 'tag' my young children though. For a start it would give you a false sense of security.

tabletopgreen · 18/02/2022 20:03

Mine two dc have AirTags, apple watches and iphone so they are tracked. But at the same times they can ‘track’ us. It’s more a family safety backup than ‘oooo where are the kids’. They are always where they say they will be.

When my kids were small I found and helped an extremely autistic child who was totally lost without any tracking / name tags etc. since then I have been a fan.

MelaniaFlump · 18/02/2022 20:03

I think it’s probably pretty bad for parents’ anxiety and capacity to deal rationally with risks.

karmakameleon · 18/02/2022 20:03

I wouldn't 'tag' my young children though. For a start it would give you a false sense of security.

It is possible to both keep an eye on your children but also to tag them. As I said upthread, ours are tagged but we’ve never had to use it in a real life situation. Need to use “find my iPhone” every five minutes though Confused

cheekychaplin · 18/02/2022 20:04

I found holding their hands when they were 2 to be so effective against kidnapping that we didn't need to track them just in case.

alphabetsoup1980 · 18/02/2022 20:05

There's quite qninteresging episode of Black Mirror that is based on this! Xx

alphabetsoup1980 · 18/02/2022 20:05

*an interesting

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 18/02/2022 20:05

I lost my toddler once. Every adult (DH, PILs and me) all thought she was with someone else... in fact she had escaped the garden and tried to follow DH to work. She hadn't put her coat on.... just in her leggings, t-shirt and wellies. She got far in the five minutes before we realised.

Unless the chip is physically implanted in them, its not fool proof. You need to rely on vigilance and teaching our children what to do if they lose you.

karmakameleon · 18/02/2022 20:06

@cheekychaplin

I found holding their hands when they were 2 to be so effective against kidnapping that we didn't need to track them just in case.
Are they not allowed to run around and play on the equipment at the park? Must be tricky going down the slide while you’re holding hands with your mum.
100problems · 18/02/2022 20:08

It's not creepy, but it's not practical as kids lose coats all the time. That's a coat plus a £29 tag.

They are a great device for older kids at school that all have identical bags or like DS can mislay a bag or keys in seconds.

You're better off watching little ones like a hawk than relying on a tag. Misplaced security is what'll do more harm.

cheekychaplin · 18/02/2022 20:09

Are they not allowed to run around and play on the equipment at the park? Must be tricky going down the slide while you’re holding hands with your mum.

Of course they were allowed to play on the park I just bloody watched them. Nobody was there to kidnap them and they played quite happily. When I mentioned holding hands I was obviously not referring to 24/7.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 18/02/2022 20:10

I used reins for DD1 because she was a bolter.

@AchillesPoirot

DD2 is a bolter. She finds it funny to run and she’s only 17mo so we can’t explain to her why she needs to stay close. She’s so fast for such a tiny person!

100problems · 18/02/2022 20:10

@karmakameleon you could more usefully stand at the bottom of the slide watching the child than watching your phone.

grapewine · 18/02/2022 20:10

@sadpapercourtesan

Because it's a really fucked up thing to do to a human being?
Agreed! There was a Black Mirror episode that dealt with something similar.
GlacindaTheTroll · 18/02/2022 20:10

Chip them like an animal?

It's nothing like that.

A pet microchip is a passive RFID device that is read only when you pass a scanner closely over it. It's entirely passive. It cannot transmit location to be found. Not only because it's a different type of tech, but because of battery life. Something which is going to transmit (so it can be detected remotely) needs to have a battery, which will periodically be replaced or re-charged. You can't do that with a subcutaneous chip

Phones/watches can be recharged, airtags can't be, but the battery life is estimated to be a year after which they mucpst be replaced

ChocolateMassacre · 18/02/2022 20:13

I think it's a good idea as an extra level of back up. I lost my then 3 year old in a busy adventure playground for 5 minutes and it was awful. I was watching him in a high tunnel and waiting for him to come out the other end, my view was obscured by a group of older children and then he was gone. I was going round the playground screaming his name and was just about to ring the police when I found him.

I also like those badges with the parents' numbers on them which you can attach to clothes. I now make my DS wear one when we're out in busy places.

QuillBill · 18/02/2022 20:14

Are they not allowed to run around and play on the equipment at the park? Must be tricky going down the slide while you’re holding hands with your mum.
This is beyond ridiculous. You must be able to see that surely.

Original poster
COL1N · 18/02/2022 20:15

[quote 100problems]@karmakameleon you could more usefully stand at the bottom of the slide watching the child than watching your phone.[/quote]
Obviously you wouldn't be watching them on the phone, its for if they were lost or missing! Stupid comment 🙄

OP posts:
CaliFrown · 18/02/2022 20:17

This is a dystopian idea which makes me glad my DC were little a long time ago.

Boysnme · 18/02/2022 20:19

We have AirTags. I have one on the dogs collar and one in each of the kids school bags.

They are not as good as you would think and are really for tracking property. They need to be near an iPhone to work. They don’t always track accurately - I tracked my son (well his bag) on his way home from a trip and it said he was 30 miles away from where he actually was and it had him in a river. Clearly they were driving over a bridge when he last past an iPhone.

I do like them for tracking belongings but I’d absolutely not trust them for accuracy on a child. Pretty sure it will also be useless if I ever need to track the dog with it too!

Photolass · 18/02/2022 20:20

I also like those badges with the parents' numbers on them which you can attach to clothes. I now make my DS wear one when we're out in busy places.

No doubt this gives you peace of mind, but it's a false sense of security and more about parental anxiety than a child's safety.

In fact I would say that's potentially dangerous. Your child is kidnapped and you conveniently give the kidnapper your home number for the ransom demands?

If your child is lost in a shopping centre, do you really think staff will search his clothes on the offchance of finding a phone number?

RedCandyApple · 18/02/2022 20:20

Whatever happened to just using reins, I have 4 children and have managed not to lose any of them!

MatildaJayne · 18/02/2022 20:20

I would have definitely done this with DS2 who has ASD when he was small and a runner. In fact I looked into similar things at the time but the technology just wasn’t good enough 20 years ago.

grapewine · 18/02/2022 20:21

@CaliFrown

This is a dystopian idea which makes me glad my DC were little a long time ago.
It makes me glad I was a child a long time ago.
SomePosters · 18/02/2022 20:21

Yeah… never happens 😂😂😂