Do your kids tell you you’re ruining their lives by being too overbearing? Do you try to spy on your kids when you send them out, but they find out and get angry? Well, tell your kids that’s just too bad because there are now apps available that will make it much easier to keep track of them when they’re out! All jokes aside, here are some of the best apps and gadgets for keeping track of your kids:
Amber Alert GPS by AT&T : this produce is a child-friendly design that enables parents to stay connected with their children through GPS location awareness and two-way mobile voice communications. With a simple touch of a button, a child can easily call a parent or caregiver – from virtually anywhere. Parents can track their little ones online or from a mobile app with accurate location information updated every five minutes. ‘Active Alerting’ ensures users receive notifications, regardless of whether they are logged into the app.
Another benefit is that if a child needs help or has a medical emergency he or she can press the one-touch call button and the smart locator will alert a pre-designated person via phone and up to 10 contacts via email. Also the device allows users to configure up to 20 ‘Safe Zones’, and get an active alert if the child enters or exits a virtual boundary, such as a home, shopping mall, or soccer field. $129.99 + $10/month. For more info click here.
Find My Kids – Footprints: With Footprints, you can track your kids and share locations with family and friends, anytime, privately. It all happens automatically, whether your phone is in your hand or in your pocket.Footprints tracks and shares locations automatically – in real-time, all the time. And it does it privately. It’s really different from other apps that simply show the current location or require some kind of manual operation to share locations. You can also set up Geofences, like your kids’ school, and be notified when these fences are crossed. You can even activate movement sensors that will notify you each time your loved ones are on the move. (Free download, subscriptions range from $1.99 to $5.99, learn more here.)
Family Tracker: Family Tracker allows you to track your wife, husband, children and fiancée. You can now find out where they are, at anytime, as long as they have their phones with them. Family Tracker is available for other platforms as well, so you can track (and be tracked by) other devices as well. Family Tracker runs in the background at all times, continuously updating the GPS location of the device. Even if the iPhone is rebooted, Family Tracker will automatically resume tracking and updating its position! In addition, for devices running iOS7, you can remotely trigger an instant GPS update so you can pinpoint their location at any time, either via another Family Tracker application, or via the website. ($3.99, purchase here.) This app also helped to locate a missing child! Read more here.
Mama Bear: MamaBear has a feature to keep watch over your child’s Facebook feed. You will be alerted to any signs of bullying or use of crude language as well as when they check-in or get tagged on their friends’ photos. The team is working on doing the same for Twitter and Instagram profiles. In addition, you will receive alerts for when they leave a place, when they need to be picked up, when they are driving or riding past a certain speed limit, or when they explicitly need you in an SOS cry for help. (Free, download here.)
Life 360: This app provides GPS locations of your family members via their smartphones, a panic button, and alerts when some one enters a preset zone (e.g. gets home). It also lets you check where they have been (location history), where to get help in an emergency (hospitals, police stations), and allows you to have group chats. Most of all, the app strives to improve overall family communication and connectivity. (Free, download here.)
Stay safe out there!
Tell us what you use for your kids!
Photos provided by iTunes.
