I’m not a parent, but I can imagine how difficult it must be to monitor your child’s whereabouts and ensure their safety when they are not with you. Should parents use GPS Tracking devices to keep up with their kids, or should they trust their teenagers to do the right thing?
Even at 10 years old, while growing up in a suburb north of Boston, Jessica Fairbanks was in and out of trouble. She had tried drinking and smoking, and had developed a habit of constantly lying to her parents. When it came time for her to get her driver’s license, Jessica’s parents were scared to death.
“We were beside ourselves,” Mark Pawlick says. “There was no way I was gonna let her in the car without some way to track where she was and where she was going.”
So, Mark Pawlick bought what’s called a black box and hid it in Jessica’s car. By using global positioning system technology to fix its location every second or so, the device is essentially an electronic tattletale. It automatically e-mails or calls Pawlick every time Jessica drives too fast, or goes somewhere she isn’t supposed to. Source
I find some fault in his reasoning – if his stepdaughter was really irresponsible and uncontrollable, she should not have gotten a driving license in the first place. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Protecting your children is important, but so is making smart choices as a parent. She would have to earn the right to drive, not expect that she could start driving at 16 just because she’s 16.
GPS Tracking devices in cell phones or in cars can make sure your kids are where they are supposed to be, but what if they forget their phone at home or school or ride with someone else instead of the car with the tracker? In urban cities like New York, most of the subway is underground, so there are long periods where someone is without a cellular signal, let alone GPS service. There’s no telling where someone is!
What are your thoughts? Should parents use GPS Tracking devices – or should they trust their children to do the right thing? Let’s hear it in the comments.
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