Keep a constant eye on your children by tracking with GPS tags
Pastor Dale Morgan
Keep a constant eye on your children by tracking with GPS tags*
By Peter Allen in Paris
Last Updated: 2:57am BST 10/07/2007
In less sophisticated days, options for parents hoping to keep track of
their children seldom amounted to much more than a worried phone call.
However, with the astonishing advance of communications technology the
chances of any child evading supervision, even if just for a few
seconds, are receding.
Children playing cricket, keep a constant eye on your children with GPS
Parents will be able to keep a constant eye on their offspring
Kiditel, a global positioning system designed for the family market, has
just gone on sale in France, enabling parents to keep a constant eye on
one or all of their offspring.
Children are given a small, hand-held unit, not unlike a mobile phone,
which they place in their pockets or bags.
The devices are linked to a personalised mapping system on their
parent's computer.
After typing in a pin code, to prevent strangers from breaking into the
system and tracking an individual child, adults can follow their child's
movements anywhere.
The units, which are produced in robust plastic and often come in bright
colours, also come with "panic buttons" which can send emergency text
messages.
Available in France as part of a £21-a-month contract of no less than
two years, they are selling so fast that their manufacturers think it
will be just a matter of time before they go on sale in Britain.
"The units are a precaution, and do not mean that the child is
continually trapped because of surveillance," said Franck Spinelli, of
CarTelematics, which specialises in satellite navigation systems for
vehicles. "We have a waiting list, and are certain that the units will
soon become an important part of everyday life in numerous countries.
"Parents have complete peace of mind about where their children are, and
if children are in trouble they can get in touch straight away."
Highly publicised cases of children going missing, such as that
involving Madeleine McCann who disappeared while on holiday in Portugal
in May, have increased concerns among parents.
The use of so-called "fences" is another innovative feature.
Parents are able to set up boundaries, enabling them to be alerted if
their child moves beyond a certain area.
Despite enthusiasm for the newly released devices, health and safety
pressure groups have voiced reservations, claiming that the
electromagnetic rays emitted could be harmful to children.
"The whole point of Kiditel is that it is always on, which can't be a
good thing for young people" said Jeanine Le Calvez, president of
Priartem, which campaigns for better regulation of phone masts.