Phone and car trackers?
 

Was debating putting this here or in 9+. What do you think of putting a tracker on your teens phone? or car.

Not sure how I feel about it. I kind of want to and kind of don't. Our parents didn't have the option.

We just got dh's mom's 1999 Oldsmobile for ds1, that's what got me thinking about them again.

He's been allowed to drive to meet friends for lunch and errands with our van or truck. I've driven him to work because he had his restricted license until last week, where he couldn't drive after 8pm. He works at the pizza place until 9 or 10pm.

He has so far been good (as far as we know) in going to the place he has permission for.

Do you have one on your teens phone? Thoughts?

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

We have iPhones so it's kind of built in. The kids track me all the time. I've never fracked them to see if they are where they are supposed to be but a couple of times I have to see if they are on their way home yet.

I like having it but not as a way to check up on them. I like it for peace of mind of being able to find them in an emergency etc.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

:up :up
I don't think my kids care. They know I track them so it doesn't feel invasive. They all track their friends too, so it seems like a non-issue. I guess if they aren't doing anything they aren't supposed to be doing, it's just not a big deal :shrug3. I track DH all the time too just because I want to know how far away he is, etc.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

In our home, like phones, Trackers are a part of independence of us :shrug

I want to be sure they get where they are going (especially during snowstorms or when they go over 45 min away).

I’m not at all concerned they are where they say they will be but about safety. They don’t have to be specific places. When they go with friends, they are allowed to be free range as long as we have a general idea of how long they will be gone.

It’s been helpful for us.

Deleted an odd situation for privacy purposes but we’ve had more .. a phone call from a sibling/passenger w dd1 “mom we think dd1 got on the freeway going the wrong way. Can u track us and let us know?” Etc

Honestly, I’m not sure I’d be handling teen years as well as I hve without trackers.

One thing to tell would be how and why we stArted. When dd was 13 she had older friends who drove and was often wanting to go places alone. We allowed it but required she text upon arrival. She kept losing privileges of riding w friends due to not calling or texting. So we decided a tracker. This allowed me to simply check on her instead of her letting me know she arrived. As she began driving it was the same thing.

I don’t sit at home tracking them. Although in a few really bad snowstorms I did :shifty but it’s been a valuable tool.

And it has nothing to do with being where they said they’d be :no honestly that never even occurred to me :shifty I’m concluding like many parenting “tools,” this could be used positively or punitively. The teen years are meant to be a transition into adulthood. They have a parental safety net while functioning independently. I like the trackers as a part of their safety net :think

Phone and car trackers?
 

We have iPhones at our house. We use find friends a lot. My 13 year old rides his bike to school and has had freedom to go places as long as we have a general idea of where he is. We live in walking distance to our church. Last week we couldn’t find him. He had walked home after church without telling us he was going home. He did get in trouble for that.

I’m also sharing locations with my parents. It is nice to check it on see if it is a good time to call them or wait.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

The place we're buying our van from uses trackers in case they ever have to repossess their vehicles. They've rarely ever had problems with people paying, but they HAVE recovered stolen vehicles more than once, including a few that were "borrowed" without asking., but also a few that were actually stolen.

It's not THAT common, but I do know someone personally who had a vehicle stolen, and it wasn't found until it had quite a bit of damage from being abandoned with the windows down. So, as rare as that might be, it's kind of comforting to know that you could find your vehicle if it was ever taken. Or towed from parking in the wrong spot.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

A college aged friend was just showing me the other day this serious tracking app she and her whole family have on their phones. You can see where everyone goes, how long they stay, and even how fast they drive. She was cool with it because she doesn't have anything to hide.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

Our app shows this for 24 hrs but we only have the free version so no histories are kept.

Every since this thread I’ve been thinking of all the pros (like texting our 17.5 yo and asking her to pick up a sibling when I see how close she is to them). We often go 3-4 ways per night and it’s been wonderful way to see who’s where if I forget :shifty

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

What apps are you all using? (We have iphones, but I'm a technology illiterate.)

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

We use life 360 because one child has an Android and the rest of us have iPhones. I wanted an app that works for both.

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

Dh and I as well as my brother, his wife and my dad all share location in Google plus/ Google maps on our Android phone.

I use it it check that dh made it places or left and if my sad is at home on wifi before I video call him.

It is something that we will do when our girls get phone when they start going places with out us.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

Was wondering this too.

My husband has a Droid, son has iPhone and I have a basic phone.

---------- Post added at 03:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 AM ----------

Doesn't sound like any of you would put it on for the purpose of checking that child is where s/he is supposed to be. Like I said, he has given us no reason to, we allow him to go places and he has been good about being home at the time given. Just me being paranoid.

But I didn't know there was a way to track his iPhone already!

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

I was really happy when DH was able to use the Verizon website to tell me where in Home Depot I'd left my phone. :doh

We will definitely be tracking when our kids start driving. Big cities have their dangers, so do rural mountain areas. :yes

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

If I had a problem teen (and I feel extremely blessed not to) I may or may not check on them. It may sound dumb but it’s never even occurred to me not to trust them. My eldest isn’t very social and my middle gets driven everywhere still. He’s almost 16.

If I recall correctly, prior to driving you had some lying going on w your son :think (sorry if I’m mixing u up w someone else?) that might change things. I have a child who’s not driving who isn’t always forthcoming. I may check on that child for the purpose of verifying where they are. I honestly check on them so much cuz my anxiety that they probably have no reason to lie :shifty especially w my brain injuries I am so forgetful and I can just open an app and see where they are. They’ve been pretty chill about it because it’s easier than fielding “where are you?” Texts :giggle

I honestly just expect them to be where they say they will and when they change plans they tell me. Even if eldest runs an errand I get “stopped at X on way home”

Re: Phone and car trackers?
 

I just realized this is in a public forum (not registered user) so I edited posts for privacy. Please let me know if I said too much about your ds in my last post :up