Why don't children get 'chipped'

[Ozzieshunni]

I think if it was a GPS tracker that I controlled and no one else had access to it and it was in a bracelet, I'd be fine with it.

 

[patch2006uk]

But doesn't it teach them that someone's always watching? That there is no respite from being watched? Even if that person is their parent, it would mean the only world they've ever known is one of total surveillance. If a government then wanted to massively curb civil liberties, then the populace, having being brought up with limited freedom anyway, would be less inclined to fight back.

I can see that a phone app or bracelet that can be removed or switched off is a happier thought than an under skin chip, but it's still the idea of being tracked that I'm not easy with.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I wouldn't do it all the time. Just if we were in a crowded area, like a shopping centre or a theme park.

 

[xemmax]

As I said before though is it just the thought of it actualy under the skin that makes people say no, would people be more inclined to think about it if it was just a wristband type thing.
My big issue with it is I cant understand the thought of it being a invasion of a child privacy, maybe its just me but to me a toddler doesnt have privacy or and right/need for it when it comes to me as their parent (and ill probably have that view till they are in their teens)

Is it a strict no to any form or tracking that people are against?

I agree that it may not be an invasion of privacy for a toddler but at what age does a child deserve/require privacy? There is no obvious cut off point and I imagine it would be when the child asks for it, which by that point, you already would have invaded it.

I imagine if you used a tracker daily for their early life it would be incredibly difficult to stop using it. You'd become so dependent on it, how could you rest knowing that the safety net you'd relied on had gone? I think it would be extremely hard.

 

[patch2006uk]

If you got used to having it, though, would you feel anxious when it wasn't there?

I can feel it a little even with LO's reins - even if we're staying in the courtyard at home, I have to stop myself putting them on him. I'm used to having them as a security blanket, and the instinct is to always have them on.

Would it end up with you putting it on when he went out into the garden, and there are a couple of places you can't see him? Or when he goes out for the day with his dad, to check nothing bad is happening?

It's easy to start some of these behaviours, but it's not easy to stop them once they're ingrained.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Nope, I trust my DH. Same as a GPS tracker in a cell phone really.

 

[xemmax]

As I said before though is it just the thought of it actualy under the skin that makes people say no, would people be more inclined to think about it if it was just a wristband type thing.
My big issue with it is I cant understand the thought of it being a invasion of a child privacy, maybe its just me but to me a toddler doesnt have privacy or and right/need for it when it comes to me as their parent (and ill probably have that view till they are in their teens)

Is it a strict no to any form or tracking that people are against?

I'm less uneasy with the idea of a tracking bracelet, but it's still the concept of being watched. I don't think any human being should be subject to constant surveillance (unless they've done something to deserve it!)

It would open a whole generation to the idea of not having any personal 'sacred' space (not the right phrase, but I can't find the word I want), over which the state, adults or other children do not cross. If you're constantly watched and monitored, then what difference if we are told where to be, or who to be with. It's a slippery slope IMO.

I agree with this. Also I worry that by telling a child they need to be monitored it makes them fearful of the world. I want my children to feel safe and although I know that's why people promote these things, I worry it could have the opposite effect.

 

[patch2006uk]

Nope, I trust my DH. Same as a GPS tracker in a cell phone really.

I just think these things are all a bit habit forming. Like carrying mobiles - previous generations weren't contactable all the time, whereas most people now would feel lost without their phone in their pocket.

And maybe not your husband, but a family member or someone else. I know your family aren't local, but say you left LO with a sitter, or your auntie, or your great aunt sue, or your best friend. Would you be able to resist checking up on them?

My husband did a long bike ride a couple of years ago, and he set up a tracking page on google maps, so I could see how far he'd got. When his signal dropped out, though, it froze and looked like he'd stopped. I had to stop looking at it in the end, as I was refreshing the page every 10 mins, and worrying myself if the dot hadn't moved.

I know I wouldn't be able to resist looking if the option was there.

 

[louandivy]

nooo noo noo noo! Even the idea of all kids wearing a tracking bracelet is really fucking creepy to me.

 

[Sarahkka]

Some tracking technologies are really useful, though.
My dad uses a spot tracker to beam us his latest positions on mountain climbs and wilderness trips. That could be the difference between life and death if he were injured and we had to go find him.
When you are talking about that certain age of toddler (very mobile, very curious, and not capable yet of reasoning their way through a getting lost scenario), being able to electronically track them would be a nice safety net in certain situations. The thing about the technology not being an implant is that there is conscious choice on the part of the user all along the way. (And I count the parent as the user, not the toddler.) As long as it is not replacing the coping skills that need to start developing eventually in the kid, I don't think it's some terrible shocking idea.

 

[smokey]

As I said before though is it just the thought of it actualy under the skin that makes people say no, would people be more inclined to think about it if it was just a wristband type thing.
My big issue with it is I cant understand the thought of it being a invasion of a child privacy, maybe its just me but to me a toddler doesnt have privacy or and right/need for it when it comes to me as their parent (and ill probably have that view till they are in their teens)

Is it a strict no to any form or tracking that people are against?

I'm less uneasy with the idea of a tracking bracelet, but it's still the concept of being watched. I don't think any human being should be subject to constant surveillance (unless they've done something to deserve it!)
It would open a whole generation to the idea of not having any personal 'sacred' space (not the right phrase, but I can't find the word I want), over which the state, adults or other children do not cross. If you're constantly watched and monitored, then what difference if we are told where to be, or who to be with. It's a slippery slope IMO.

This is what I cant understand though, by this do you mean a 3/4 year old shouldnt be watched constantly and should have their own private space and time to do stuff without us knowing what/where they are and respect their personal space?
I just dont get that, what toddler needs private personal time without being watched.

 

[morri]

ever thought of personal freedom. Knwing that you can be not surveilled? chipping people sounds like brave new world or similar distopia. It sounds like a high control crapsack world. Have you seen thx 1138? people get chipped there and have a light on their hand which tells them when it is time to go, and restricts them where to go etc.

 

[smokey]

As I said before though is it just the thought of it actualy under the skin that makes people say no, would people be more inclined to think about it if it was just a wristband type thing.
My big issue with it is I cant understand the thought of it being a invasion of a child privacy, maybe its just me but to me a toddler doesnt have privacy or and right/need for it when it comes to me as their parent (and ill probably have that view till they are in their teens)

Is it a strict no to any form or tracking that people are against?

I agree that it may not be an invasion of privacy for a toddler but at what age does a child deserve/require privacy? There is no obvious cut off point and I imagine it would be when the child asks for it, which by that point, you already would have invaded it.

I imagine if you used a tracker daily for their early life it would be incredibly difficult to stop using it. You'd become so dependent on it, how could you rest knowing that the safety net you'd relied on had gone? I think it would be extremely hard.

Yes I agree it probably would be hard to let go but then isnt it hard to let go the day we leave them at school for the first time, the day we agree to let them make their own way to school, the first time we allow them to go out with friends shopping or cinema without a adult, the freedom that we allow them bit at a time as they get older and more responsable and learn to understand how to stay safe and what to do if they do find themselves alone for any reason.
I dont realy see it as any different from any of the other points where you have to step back and let them go it alone without you there.

My parents did tracking the old fashioned way, it was called having 11 houses of your family down the same road.
I couldnt even swear down one end of the road without my mum knowing about it before I got home

 

[smokey]

nooo noo noo noo! Even the idea of all kids wearing a tracking bracelet is really fucking creepy to me.

So you wouldnt fell better if for some reason you got seperated from your child but could find them within a few seconds when they are that age of running around (read my post from earlier to see just how 2 seconds of putting shows in a box losy me my child for a bit)

Im not generaly into the whole scaremongering of most modern parenting contraptions but I do believe I would rather have something as a back up and never need it rather then not have it and regret it weither it be for a few momnet or the rest of my life

 

[smokey]

ever thought of personal freedom. Knwing that you can be not surveilled? chipping people sounds like brave new world or similar distopia. It sounds like a high control crapsack world. Have you seen thx 1138? people get chipped there and have a light on their hand which tells them when it is time to go, and restricts them where to go etc.

But I dont see why it has to be as extreme as actual under the skin chipping, there is a much less radical option of a occasional wristband for occasions when your in a busy place like a theme park, airport, large shopping centre with a child of a age where they can get seperated but dont yet understand how to stay safe and sensable till yo ufind them

 

[lynne192]

i don't have any trackers on james when i was worried about him running off i used a pram or reigns he has extra needs as well so i just have to be more careful. how did we manage before without things like this centuries with kids without these things... is it not more worrying that people think they need them?

i trust myself as a parent not to need one. but maybe its just me maybe i'm a bad mum lol

 

[smokey]

i don't have any trackers on james when i was worried about him running off i used a pram or reigns he has extra needs as well so i just have to be more careful. how did we manage before without things like this centuries with kids without these things... is it not more worrying that people think they need them?

i trust myself as a parent not to need one. but maybe its just me maybe i'm a bad mum lol

No there is no such thing as a bad mum in cases like this, I certainly dont think someone is a bad mother for not contemplating the idea same as id hope no one would think im a bad mother for thinking its not such a bad thing.
Its not a case of who loves their child more or whos a better parent no matter what option they choose
The idea of bad parenting doesnt even need to come into this its just alternative methods for what you may feel is required same as some hate the idea of reins and others think its for the best.

Like I say iv never actualy used it but now hes at a age where he is starting to walk places when out and he is just so dam quick that its something I may think about putting on him as a safety measure with the hope of never needing it, same as I put his reigns on him to stop him dashing out of my hand towards a road but he wont always be wearing reigns.
With the case of the shoe shop he was in a pram for most of the time but I took him out to try shoes on and he legged it whilst I was knelt down and couldnt jump up quick enough.

 

[patch2006uk]

As I said before though is it just the thought of it actualy under the skin that makes people say no, would people be more inclined to think about it if it was just a wristband type thing.
My big issue with it is I cant understand the thought of it being a invasion of a child privacy, maybe its just me but to me a toddler doesnt have privacy or and right/need for it when it comes to me as their parent (and ill probably have that view till they are in their teens)

Is it a strict no to any form or tracking that people are against?

I'm less uneasy with the idea of a tracking bracelet, but it's still the concept of being watched. I don't think any human being should be subject to constant surveillance (unless they've done something to deserve it!)
It would open a whole generation to the idea of not having any personal 'sacred' space (not the right phrase, but I can't find the word I want), over which the state, adults or other children do not cross. If you're constantly watched and monitored, then what difference if we are told where to be, or who to be with. It's a slippery slope IMO.

This is what I cant understand though, by this do you mean a 3/4 year old shouldnt be watched constantly and should have their own private space and time to do stuff without us knowing what/where they are and respect their personal space?
I just dont get that, what toddler needs private personal time without being watched.

I think by the age of 3 or 4, they should absolutely have some privacy, even if it's just to sit in their room playing, or reading a book (if they've mastered reading-which a 4 year old may well have)

It's the idea of having a child be used to constant surveillance that concerns me. If they are watched constantly through their formative years, then that will be normalised, and any future surveillance woukdnt seem so abhorrent to then as it would to a person who hadn't been tracked throughout the early years.

Theme parks and shopping centres can be solved by either having reins for young children, holding hands or having pre-arrange meeting points in the event of getting separated.

My son is walking everywhere now, but while he's got no sense of anything and wanders off, plus as we live in a city centre, he's on reins. At no point would I consider stepping down the level of parental supervision. Whereas I might be complacent if I knew he was tracked and locatable if he did wander off.

You also have to consider the lowest common denominator. Would poorly educated families abuse the technology? Would it encourage more parents to let young children roam the streets? While you yourself might not misuse it , there are alot of people around who don't think before they act.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Why would I check up on family and friends I trust? That, to me, suggests deeper issues than just using a tracker in crowded areas.

 

[patch2006uk]

Why would I check up on family and friends I trust? That, to me, suggests deeper issues than just using a tracker in crowded areas.

It's just a hypothetical question. If you were, say, back at work, and you'd left LO for the first time with someone, would you be able to resist checking up on them? It's less intrusive than a text or phone call, the person won't know you're checking up on them. Who does it hurt? You can reassure yourself that your baby is ok (and not in the hospital, or in the middle of a cave, or something ridiculous) and the person you've trusted with LO never has to know.

Maybe not yourself, but can you not see people doing that if the option is available?