Tracking device for car?

[Tigerlulu]

Also the tracker (hum) gives me a measure of peace since it comes with a direct connection to help if my son or daughter need it. They drive an older car and all they have to do is push a button to talk to someone who will send help. It's also just a way to give them freedom within boundaries, and as they drive more I check it less and less. I set the max speed for my alerts at 5 mph over the speed limit on the interstate stretch my son drives to get to work.

 

[yoopermom]

Only 10 or 15 years ago, the only way to monitor was to have your child call from a payphone...or take a picture of where they were, using their Polaroid.

Or live in a small town full of nosy friends and neighbors, who will take note of your vehicle and tell your parents. DS23's first car was a BRIGHT red VW Beetle (only one in a town of pickup trucks and minivans) and we didn't need a tracker that first year, since we would hear constantly from people who saw him out and about.

Terri

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• In Canada.... they just released Drive+. https://www.telus.com/en/bc/mobility/accessories/product/telus-drive
• For long road trips.... I like the SPOT products..... the satellite beacons don't need cellular service. Just throw it in the glove box or luggage. Important to see that a loved did not fall asleep drives off the road. https://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=128

 

[lancermom]

I use Life360 for my 16 year old. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just for my peace of mind to let me know that he got where he was going safely. For those of you that don't have drivers that think it is odd to track - let us know if you still feel the same way when you have young drivers.

I have a 15 year old and an 18 year old. My daughter has had her license for almost 2 years, and my son is about to get his permit. I have never tracked my daughter. Ever. We don't have a tracking app. In fact, none of my friends track their kids like that. Yes, I want to know that she has gotten to her destination safely. That's what her cell phone is for. When she first started driving, she was required to check in with me when she got to her destination, and let me know when she was leaving, either by call or text. Now that she has had her license for awhile, we only ask her to do that if she is driving long distances (not, say, to work or her boyfriend's house). She's at college now without a car so this only applies when she's using our car at home. If she had a car at college, I would not be tracking her nor would I make her check in.

All of this will hold with our son as well.

 

[Kitty 34]

My DD tracks me when I’m out and about, lol.

eta: Did they call you and let you know when they made it somewhere? At least when they were new drivers?

If it's bad weather or they have a long way to go to get home they STILL call or text and let us know they got home or we call them if we are traveling from their places.

 

[sam_gordon]

They may be surprised at their child's behavior, when they were away from them. IME, the parents who expected their child to always make the best decisions were the ones who were most likely not living in reality.

So we should find ways to keep up with our children 24/7? After all, they may be making bad decisions in or out of a car.

I have (I think twice is the three years she's been driving) used "find my iPhone" for DD when I was waiting for her to get home and I needed to decide whether I had time to start another project. IMO, you either trust your kids or you don't. Want to know they arrived somewhere safe? "Text me when you get there." If they don't text, take the keys away. Simple. I'm sorry, I'm not going to stress over whether a 16/17 year old gets to the mall/school/work/friend's house. In a year or two, they're going to be away at college. Should I put a tracker in their backpack so I know they made it to class ok? Give them a little freedom at a time and it won't be such a shock when they're on their own.

 

[Snowflakey]

Both of my DD's - who are in their early 20's ASKED for me to have them on the Find Friends app on my iphone. They said they feel safer knowing I can see where they are if I needed to. Do I stalk them - not at all. But I feel much safer checking to see where they are at times rather than texting them as most times they are in their car and texting and driving is a killer.

 

[Klayfish]

So we should find ways to keep up with our children 24/7? After all, they may be making bad decisions in or out of a car.

I have (I think twice is the three years she's been driving) used "find my iPhone" for DD when I was waiting for her to get home and I needed to decide whether I had time to start another project. IMO, you either trust your kids or you don't. Want to know they arrived somewhere safe? "Text me when you get there." If they don't text, take the keys away. Simple. I'm sorry, I'm not going to stress over whether a 16/17 year old gets to the mall/school/work/friend's house. In a year or two, they're going to be away at college. Should I put a tracker in their backpack so I know they made it to class ok? Give them a little freedom at a time and it won't be such a shock when they're on their own.

Agreed. Comes back to my question earlier about being a caring and concerned parent vs. being a helicopter parent. There isn't one "right" answer I guess, but just my own style is more like yours.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I use Life360 for my 16 year old. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just for my peace of mind to let me know that he got where he was going safely. For those of you that don't have drivers that think it is odd to track - let us know if you still feel the same way when you have young drivers.

Mine will be 19 and 21 later this month. Niether drives (their choice) but both have been going places on their own by public transit or bike for a good long while now. It never occurred to me to want to track their whereabouts via their phone or some such.
Do i worry? yes. Don't all parents to some degree?
That doesn't mean I feel I need to track their every move though. I, personally, would feel that is a big invasion of their privacy and too controlling.
Like several PPs, I asked them to send a message when they arrive and when they leave---or message if they are going to be much later than expected (I still ask that of the 19 year old who lives at home---then again DH and I also send a message to whoever is home so no one worries---it falls under common courtesy in our house).
We all also know that people cannot message while driving (or biking!) and do not expect instant responses---it's not rocket science.

 

[cabanafrau]

I use Life360 for my 16 year old. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just for my peace of mind to let me know that he got where he was going safely. For those of you that don't have drivers that think it is odd to track - let us know if you still feel the same way when you have young drivers.

Mine are both college age now. As I've said, if I had needed a tracker to verify their whereabouts they would not have been allowed to drive anywhere in the first place because they would have not been ready for the responsibility. If they were ready for the responsibility of driving they were ready to drive where they needed to safely. A tracker wouldn't have kept them any safer from other drivers driving badly or bad road conditions. If they had car trouble they had their phones -- which is more than I had when my parents trusted me to drive off wherever I needed to as a teen.

 

[RangerPooh]

Our kids are not old enough to drive, but we have the Life360 app on the girls phones as well as DH and mine, and my parents. This allows us to know where everyone is. DH also uses it to track me when I'm out running by myself. It has provided us with peace of mind when the kids have been out with other people.

 

[cabanafrau]

Our kids are not old enough to drive, but we have the Life360 app on the girls phones as well as DH and mine, and my parents. This allows us to know where everyone is. DH also uses it to track me when I'm out running by myself. It has provided us with peace of mind when the kids have been out with other people.

I don't understand, who do your kids go out with that you feel you need to track?

 

[mjkacmom]

I never wanted to potentially distract my DD when she was possibly driving.

I miss tracking ds19 and dd21 for this reason. I’ll be wondering when they are coming, DH tells me to call or text them, but I don’t want to distract them if they are driving.

ETA, the app is mostly used to find the phone, we use it daily. We would’ve definitely lost a few, in between the seats of someone in our multiple carpools, on soccer fields, under cushions on the front porch. Ds14’s phone died the last time he couldn’t find it. He insisted the last place it was was charging in DH’s car. We found it under a pile of papers in the dining room.

I really trust my kids, but I’m also more permissive than some. Ds got to run around Glasgow by himself at 16, my teens can take public transportation to NYC without adults, they’ve been free to walk around town since 10 or so. They don’t call or text me after school if they’re going somewhere, if I want to know where they are, I can just check. It does make them a bit lazy.

Back in my day, I would’ve used it to my advantage, leaving my phone where I was supposed to be. I would be clubbing in the city at 1 am at 16 while my parents thought I was sleeping at a friend’s house.

 

[Klayfish]

Back in my day, I would’ve used it to my advantage, leaving my phone where I was supposed to be. I would be clubbing in the city at 1 am at 16 while my parents thought I was sleeping at a friend’s house.

Why I never heard of such rebellious activity... I would never...

 

[nkereina]

Another user of Life360 here (although DS is grown up).Makes me feel safer when it comes to my senior citizen parents when they are on the road, as well.

I don't mean to hijack, but can you elaborate on the benefits and features of Life360 when it comes to parents? Is there a cost for this service? My parents are driving from New York to Florida in a few weeks for the first time, and we are all a little nervous, especially with the weather. This might be a good thing for us.

 

[Hikergirl]

I don't track, I just ask my kids to text me when they get to their destination and when they are leaving it.
If I was going to track I would tell them, I would never try to hide it.
I also don't get the idea of tracking your child but telling who they are with to slow down, not my place at all. If I can't trust other drivers then I don't let my child go with them, I transport them. I think "parenting" others because you track your child is going too far IMO.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

So we should find ways to keep up with our children 24/7? After all, they may be making bad decisions in or out of a car.

I have (I think twice is the three years she's been driving) used "find my iPhone" for DD when I was waiting for her to get home and I needed to decide whether I had time to start another project. IMO, you either trust your kids or you don't. Want to know they arrived somewhere safe? "Text me when you get there." If they don't text, take the keys away. Simple. I'm sorry, I'm not going to stress over whether a 16/17 year old gets to the mall/school/work/friend's house. In a year or two, they're going to be away at college. Should I put a tracker in their backpack so I know they made it to class ok? Give them a little freedom at a time and it won't be such a shock when they're on their own.

You should do what you think is best for your child & leave the OP to do what she thinks is best for hers. Just because you choose to do something doesn't automatically make it the right way. It makes it your way. That's all that matters. We all have our own opinions on what the right way is.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I miss tracking ds19 and dd21 for this reason. I’ll be wondering when they are coming, DH tells me to call or text them, but I don’t want to distract them if they are driving.

ETA, the app is mostly used to find the phone, we use it daily. We would’ve definitely lost a few, in between the seats of someone in our multiple carpools, on soccer fields, under cushions on the front porch. Ds14’s phone died the last time he couldn’t find it. He insisted the last place it was was charging in DH’s car. We found it under a pile of papers in the dining room.

I really trust my kids, but I’m also more permissive than some. Ds got to run around Glasgow by himself at 16, my teens can take public transportation to NYC without adults, they’ve been free to walk around town since 10 or so. They don’t call or text me after school if they’re going somewhere, if I want to know where they are, I can just check. It does make them a bit lazy.

Back in my day, I would’ve used it to my advantage, leaving my phone where I was supposed to be. I would be clubbing in the city at 1 am at 16 while my parents thought I was sleeping at a friend’s house.

I agree. Simply tracking a phone can be useless. I would have done similar to you & my parents never would have believed I'd consider it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Back in my day, I would’ve used it to my advantage, leaving my phone where I was supposed to be. I would be clubbing in the city at 1 am at 16 while my parents thought I was sleeping at a friend’s house.

Yep! And then the kid is in more danger than they would have been had parents not been tracking beucase the kid has no access to their phone if they do need it for some reason.

 

[sam_gordon]

You should do what you think is best for your child & leave the OP to do what she thinks is best for hers. Just because you choose to do something doesn't automatically make it the right way. It makes it your way. That's all that matters. We all have our own opinions on what the right way is.

I pretty much said what *I* do. I gave my opinion.

And FWIW, it sure sounded like you were criticizing parents who DON'T keep up with their kids whereabouts...

They may be surprised at their child's behavior, when they were away from them. IME, the parents who expected their child to always make the best decisions were the ones who were most likely not living in reality.

You like (presumably) the tracking because you don't know what your child is doing. I'm just pointing out car tracking doesn't help. They can say they're staying at a friend's house, drive there, then leave in the friend's car. Will kids "push the boundaries" and go somewhere they shouldn't? I'm sure. But if you're that worried when the kid is 16/17, what happens a year or two later when they go to college?

For those who say the tracking gives you "peace of mind", peace of mind of what? Will it come in handy if they said they'd arrive somewhere at 10p and it's 1am and they haven't gotten there? Sure. That comes back to the trust factor. Parents and kids have been battling this for LONG before cell phones and car trackers. Amazing they survived.