I Spy With My Little Eye…

Trust Is An Issue With GPS Tracking Systems

By Nancy K. Crevier

There is no worse feeling for a parent than when a child goes missing. According to a 2002 study by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children 2, approximately 1,315,600 children in the United States were reported as caretaker (parent, guardian, responsible adult) missing in 1999. The fact that less than one percent of those children remained missing by the time the data was entered is of little comfort to the parents of a missing child when the moments of uncertainty are ticking by and horrific scenarios are racing through their minds.

Keeping track of children is an issue parents have tackled for generations, sometimes more successfully than at other times. Today’s technology, though, offers a new way of pinning down a child’s whereabouts.

The use of global positioning system (GPS) devices, developed by the US Department of Defense in the 1970s to provide information to US military forces around the world, is becoming the newest trend marketed to parents.

But are GPS tracking units in the cellphones, cars, and on the children themselves an extra set of eyes for concerned caregivers, or do they provide a false sense of security and hinder steps toward independence in young adults?

IonKids Child Monitor promotes itself as a state-of-the-art locator system that allows caregivers to track children via a bracelet/base unit system. The tamper-proof bracelet is designed to fit children ages 2 to 10 years old. Guardians can set an alarmed safety zone to contain children equipped with the bracelet or use the locater on the base unit to identify a child’s location. Built in security systems are designed to prevent unauthorized removal of the bracelet and prevent third-party scanning of the unit. It works by transmitting a signal using point-to-point wireless communication. Because it does not depend on cell towers or satellites, ionKids will work regardless of weather conditions or surrounding structures, according to ionKids literature.

Migo is an option that Verizon offers its cellphone customers who are GPS capable. “It’s its own little phone,” explained customer care representative Jason Walker of the Brookfield/Danbury Verizon store on Federal Road. “It stores emergency numbers so that a child can dial a parent or other relative if they need to and parents can set up a safety zone that they can track with GPS. If the child goes outside of that zone, Migo sends a warning.” Most of the customers who opt for Migo said Mr Walker, are parents of children between 5 and 10 years old.

PocketTrack is a palm-sized GPS device that can be easily carried to provide up to five days of location history. Information recorded on the battery-operated satellite unit can be downloaded to a Windows-based computer for later referral. Unlike the ionKids system, which is clearly visible, or “Migo,” the PocketTrack, says literature, is “extremely small and easily hidden for covert applications.” In other words, parents suspicious of their teens’ activities should be able to plant the unit unobtrusively and map the young person’s most recent activities, unbeknownst to them.

Alltrack is another GPS tracking device marketed toward the guardians of teenage drivers. “You can record all of the whereabouts of your child’s car including the address of each destination, names of streets traveled, miles driven, how long the vehicle remained at each location and the speed of the driver,” according to the alltrackusa.com website. The monitor can be installed “completely out of sight” and data viewed by downloading information to a PC computer. Real-time tracking is one of the selling points of Alltrack, enabling parents to use computers or telephone to know the exact location of a teen’s car in present time. Speed, braking, trip distance, and time can be supervised through audio warnings defined by parents. The product is touted as a safe method of supervision and a way to offer long-distance, and yes, covert, guidance to the inexperienced driver.

A Message About Trust

Local family and marriage counselor Wendy Davenson is concerned with the hidden message sent to teenagers when a GPS tracking unit is put into play, whether it is out in the open or behind the scenes. “What you are saying is, ‘I don’t trust my kid.’ Teens need to prove they can be trusted in each developmental area, and driving is one of those areas. If all is favorable, they earn the privilege to use the car. I would hate to say that I distrust my child so much I have to put a tracking device in.”

Children need opportunities to grow independently, said Ms Davenson. “If you build levels of trust all along, privileges can be given. If teens abuse our trust, we shouldn’t need to track them mechanically,” said Ms Davenson. “We, as parents, can do that. We do it by setting rules and expectations and by talking to kids. When there’s an infraction, we act on it. A tracking device,” pointed out Ms Davenson, “will not tell you if [teenagers] are drinking or using the drug du jour. I want the onus on the parent. Parents are way too eager to have kids drive. It’s a privilege, not a right.”

Installing a device such as Alltrack can lead to a sort of “self-fulfilling prophecy,” Ms Davenson worried. If a lack of trust is expressed, the young adult may engage in reckless behavior they may not have considered otherwise. “Kids don’t like to be crowded,” she said. “Why would anyone put a tracker on a car without telling their teen unless you had a reason? Parents need to talk to their kids, not just install an expensive device. I love to see parents involved with their kids in an appropriate way.”

Tracy Fiore and Peggy O’Neil-Murphy are two Newtown parents who agree with Ms Davenson that tracking devices are really a trust issue.

Ms O’Neil-Murphy has a son, Walter, who is a junior at Newtown High School and a daughter, Nora, who is in the seventh grade. “Teenagers need some freedom to make choices —sometimes they will make good ones and sometimes they will make bad ones,” she said. “I can see where some parents would want Alltrack. There are so many scary situations for new drivers, that it would be helpful.” But for Ms O’Neil-Murphy, relying on her good relationship with her children is preferable to technological interference. “I would rather rely on the trust I have with my child. I wouldn’t want it to come to having to install a GPS system in his car,” she said.

“We have to trust them, don’t we?” asked Ms Fiore, regarding the use of tracking teens movements and driving capabilities. Certainly, she said, a teenager should be made aware if parents determine an Alltrack-like unit is going to be installed in the car. “It’s almost invasive, and it’s kind of a creepy idea, especially when talking about teens,” she said. Her eldest son, Anthony, recently got his driver’s license and as much as she worries when he is out alone in the car, she trusts him to obey the rules and drive respectfully. “How do you learn to become a responsible person if you are watched all of the time?” she wondered. “He knows that if I hear from whose-it that he is racing down the street, there will be consequences. Before I would consider a GPS system, I would take away the car. He wouldn’t deserve it.”

Chris DeVellis is another Newtown parent who prefers a hands-on approach to parenting. She is the mother of four boys, Joey, 17, Jake, 15, Justin, 11, and Jaret, who is 8 years old. She has been through the small child phase, the middle school ages, and now the teen-age years with her children. She is aware of the use of cellphone tracking devices to follow children, but said, “I would be so sad if I had to use one with my teens. I would feel I had lost all trust.”

Secretly tracking a child’s movements, she feels, could be viewed as a personal violation when the child finds out. “How do you bring [the fact that you have been secretly tracking them] up when you do find out they have broken a rule? I trust my boys to go and stay where they are supposed to be,” said Ms DeVellis. “It’s a huge step when they get their license, but I tell them, ‘Until you give me a reason not to, I trust you.’ I hope communication between us is good.”

There are steps parents can take when they suspect that young drivers are abusing the driving privilege, said Ms DeVellis, before resorting to covert actions. “The first thing you do is take the car away.” It is a simple and inexpensive response.

Without resorting to espionage, Ms DeVellis does request that her teenage sons call her when they reach their destination. “I know from caller ID if he is where he said he was going,” she said, “and he knows I can tell that.”

Not Necessary In Newtown

In a small town like Newtown, Ms DeVellis feels that mechanical tracking of family members is practically unnecessary. “No matter where you go in Newtown, someone will know. My boys know that. There are so many people who know my husband and myself that even if the boys don’t know [all of the people we know], someone is going to say to me, ‘Hey, I saw your son at the Ice Cream Shop,’ or something.”

Her younger sons follow the same rules she set up years ago for Joey and Jake. “We lay down the rules before we go anywhere and we enforce the rules. I think being right there with them is the best way to keep track of them. You have to be vigilant, no matter where you go.”

Although Ms DeVellis, Ms Fiore, and Ms O’Neil-Murphy said they would be loathe to use a tracking system such as ionKids or PocketTrack, they acknowledged that there may be instances where some parents could utilize such a product. Small children in big crowds are one such situation each mentioned, but all reiterated that a parent’s watchfulness is crucial when keeping tabs on children.

While it will be a number of years before she needs to deal with teenage drivers, resident Myra Leuci suspects that teens will spend a lot of time finding ways to circumvent any methods adults employ to spy upon them. “I had strict parents with very strict rules when I was growing up and I spent a lot of time trying to break those rules,” she laughed. “I would hope the trust will be built by the time my kids are old enough to drive.”

Ms Leuci’s three boys are still young: 9, 7, and 3 years of age. They keep her on her toes, but she would be cautious about using technology to watch over them. “I think something like ionKids or PocketTrack gives parents a false sense of security,” she said. “The best [way to know where your children are] is your eyes. With little ones, vigilance and doing your job as a parent is important. Nothing can compare to that.” Her children’s health would be another concern, said Ms Leuci. “What is the safety of the transmitter in the bracelet device?” she asked. “What can it trigger in a child’s body? I would definitely want to look into the medical side.”

At cancer.org, Ms Leuci’s health concerns might be allayed somewhat. Cellphones operate on radio frequencies, explains the site. And radio waves have too little energy to break bonds that hold DNA molecules together. Cellphone towers emit radio waves, as well, but according to the US Food and Drug Administration, ground level exposure from radio frequency antennas is many times less than the safe levels set by expert organizations. However, no studies aimed specifically at the safety of GPS tracking devices were found.

Are there instances in which the use of a GPS tracking system could be a good thing? Ms Davenson concedes that tracking devices could benefit children with disabilities that cause them to wander or Alzheimer patients. “If you live in an area where abduction is a real concern, maybe then a tracking unit would be good,” she said. “I think we do a better job being with our kids and talking to our kids about ‘stranger danger.’ In Newtown, I think parents do a pretty good job of monitoring our kids.”

Parents who are overly concerned about their child’s welfare and convey the thought that a child is always in danger of being snatched without good reason can transfer that anxiety to a child, said Ms Davenson. If a parent is obsessive about a child being hurt, using a tracking device is inappropriate in the eyes of this family counselor. “Who owns the problem?” she asked, parent or child?

It boils down to building trust and taking responsibility for the well being of children left in a person’s charge. “Adult supervision,” said Ms Davenson, “is primary.”