Would you put a GPS chip in your child?

My husband and I were discussing the idea of putting a GPS chip in our children.Their ages are 8 and 13.I am very reluctant being I feel its a huge invasion of privacy.Especially with the 13 year old.He argues they would know its there and to make a contract with both of our girls of its stated intended use.
His side of it is that we would never make use of it unless its an extreme circumstance.We live year round in a summer resort area of sorts.We have a lot of lakes near by.Whats your thought?
Thanks in advance

You can do that???
Although I suppose if you can do it to a dog, you can do it to a kid.
Weird.

(Sorry, I know that was no help at all).

the idea of being able to find them if they were abducted, etc. I wouldn't want to use it to spy on them. This is a conundrum.:shrug:

If we were to have a chip placed it would be with the understanding that my girls would be able to request them removed.

I would do it for infants and kids up to about 10 years old. Not sure about doing it to a 13 year old though.

I would leave the choice up to her.She actually wants it.She thinks its cool.How long that would last I have no idea.

I probably would not because I don't think that the world is quite as scary as the media would have you believe. For example, in 30 years of teaching I have taught over 10,000 kids and never "lost" one through kidnapping.

However, I could probably be talked into it very easily, especially if I had a custody problem or was wealthy and a good target for kidnappers.

Though kidnapping is scary.I am also conflicted about privacy issues.

until adolescence.

I might get slammed for that, but it has worked for me. I read notes I found in backpacks, listened to conversations if I happened upon one. I did not listen on the phone, but I would have if there had been any problems.

The parent prime directive: keep them alive until they leave home. Some might think that is lowering the bar a tad as it doesn't involve honor roll and stuff...but it is advice I give at teacher conferences all the time.

between finding a note in their back pack and putting a computer chip INSIDE their body.

Plus, the potential for misuse is enormous, not to mention possible medical dangers. . .

is someone kidnapping them and then trying to find it. Yikes!

time consuming if it is on a daily basis.

When the situation suggests a need than it would be fruitful and and at times put one's mind at ease. If the behavior of the child warrants it such as curfew violation would be one possibility.

I would not consider 13 to old considering that they could easily run away or be kidnapped.. especially if they are female.

Inside the body would be better in the event of a child being kidnapped or a situation where a cell phone with GPS would become lost.

They could create a chip that is deactivated once the child turns 18 by going online and the parent enters the code to send a signal for that purpose.

It use to be that a parent would or could find out if their child was where they were suppose to be before the advent of cell phones. Unless the phone has GPS and the parent is financially responsible for the bill there isn't any way of determining where the child is for sure.

That is probably the most fucked up thing I've heard all day. I hope you are kidding.

...drill holes in my mother's head with a Black and Decker to relieve the pressure of a migraine.

You are NOT serious about chipping your kid! Please tell me you're not!

...so you can keep track of his movements?

I'm sorry, but this is the most barbaric thing I've heard in a month of Sundays.

These are your kids. They're not animals.

Hey, you're the parent -- I'm not. But I am a human being -- and if anyone tried to implant a chip in my body, they'd have to kill me to do it. And I'm no rebellious 13-year-old.

I'm sorry, but my head is absolutely swimming at the idea anyone would actually consider this. I'm seriously stunned, and seriously disturbed that you're even entertaining the idea.

Besides the invasion of privacy.

And WHO would know it's there.

And if I'm asked to explain, well, God knows where my children are. Peace from a bleeding heart lib.

child(ren)'s privacy... Or do the chips miraculously discentigrate when the child(ren) turn(s) eighteen?

Hubbys argument is that when they are old enough to request them removed he would respect their wishes.

How about an invasion of their bodies and basic human dignity?

I can't beleive anyone would do this to their child.

It's a physical violation of a person too young/helpless to do anything about it. In my eyes, it's abuse. And I can't imagine the lasting emotional/psychological damage of being tagged like game -- especially by one's own parents. One may as well keep a kid on a leash with a shock collar; at least that's not as physically invasive... although I'm sure the lifelong humiliation factor would be about the same.

I feel sick to my stomach about this.

If you are concerned with your children's safety when they are in and around the wooded lake area, have them take an orienteering and water safety/survival course(s) before you place chips into your children.

It's only a matter of time beofore the government will do this FOR you, don't beat the government to the punch on your own children.

in a single generation, the government would be allowed to track every person's movements. Why? Because in a single generation you'll have a whole bunch of parents who grew up with Daddy Authority constantly being able to know where they are, and "it didn't hurt us".

The generation after the trend starts will be the ones who will allow, freely, and openly, and happily, the government to spy on all adults.

For our own good, of course- just like when they were kids.

Think of the boiling frog, and this makes more sense.

Yes, it might be a good thing in the short run, but looking in the long term to the direction our civil liberties are going, it doesn't seem farfetched that it might be used to track your kids once they're grown. A time when everyone is required to get these also doesn't seem far off.

I'd rather just keep better tabs on my kids than tag them like wildlife.

Verachip has been working on it, but they aren't there yet. The best you can do is put a tracker in the car.

Answering in the abstract for the future - I am a bit paranoid - I wouldn't. But I can see how it might be attractive for finding a lost kid.

The use of technology always has unintended consequences.

The first privacy issue I would have:

who else knows about the chip? Who is going to have an entry for your child and the chip # in their database? If it's anyone who is not you and your husband, I wouldn't do it.

Just a little too much like Logan's Run, you know?

You would have to stick to the contract. If they're a little late and haven't called, you don't go to the GPS reader - you send them an electric shock to remind them to call :)

of that?

I mean, the info has to be maintained by a 3rd party in order to be of any use whatsoever. The lost-dog chip people maintain a database of dogs and cats and owners so that vets can look them up.

And any data maintained by a 3rd party is open to abuse...

Do you mean the identifying chip, like Gideon has, that can be scanned if he's ever lost and it will tell whoever scans it who they need to call?

Or do you mean something that will actually uplink to GPS satellites and tell you where your kid is at any given moment? Because last I saw those were not yet down to "chip" size; they're more the size of a Mini-Mag Lite, and I don't think they're approved for human use.

Tucker

Seriously, the only way I'd even consider it is if our family had tons of cash, thus making our daughter a kidnapping target.

The main thin I'd want is that once she reached legal age, she'd be able to have the chip removed if she so desired. I don't think people should get used to the idea of being tracked 24/7.

while you're at it be sure that everyone gets a "St. Clement's Dane Engraving" for their room.

We should let the kids decide! :D

Too many germs. I wouldn't do this, and I have a teen aged daughter whose whereabouts are constantly an issue. Making her learn to check in and be responsible is more better.

However, what about my brother? He's 50 years old, Down's Syndrome, has never met a stranger, beginning to be forgetful, all Down's leads to Alzheimer's. Works in a sheltered workshop, lives in a 27/7 supervised group home. How careful can we be?

Identifying chip, YES, like for cats and dogs, with the HomeAgain chip, but so far, I believe that all GPS recievers / transmitters require a power source.

That said, I would NEVER, EVER do this to a human being, and I hope like hell that nobody ever would. EVER.

In a much more sane world, I think I probably would -- but, would I need one, in a more sane world? As other posters have stated, the potential for misuse is enormous, and I neither trust, nor do I like the government, no matter who is in charge of it.

I do think, however, that being paranoid over the possible misuse is just as bad as being paranoid over the world being a deadly place.

I cannot think of anything more terrifying than the possibility of one's young child vanishing. One day, I had a garage sale, and I had to get up at 5:30, setting things up. It was a citywide garage sale, so even though the sale wasn't supposed to start until 8, the early birds were out. I let my four-year-old son sleep, in the house, while we were setting up. I went in to wake him up at about 8 a.m., so he could come out and sell his organic ginger cookies that he helped make. When I went in, the first time, he rustled, and I had to run back outside, where there was hustle & bustle. About 2-3 minutes later, I went back into the house, and couldn't find him. He was gone. I yelled all through the house -- nothing. The door had been open, too. Panic gripped me, immediately. He was not one to go off, and we had just moved, and didn't know anyone in the area, to whose house he cold have wandered. I FREAKED OUT. I'm having a hard time typing this, because just the memory is chilling. I finally found him, a few minutes later, at the neighbor's. He'd gotten dressed, and taken his cookies over to them. All very innocent. But I didn't think he could have put himself together that fast, been out the door, etc.

Even though he was safe, it was the most terrifying five minutes of my life. I don't believe that chipping a kid less than 13 or so is an invasion of privacy, or a civil rights issue. If those were the only issues, I would chip him, for sure. But as to who has access to the information -- that makes me a little wary.

First of all, I can't afford it. The vast majority of Americans will never be able to afford it. Which means that kids will be exposed to the exact same dangers that kids have been exposed to forever. Which also means your kids are going to have to learn the dangers and pitfalls of living and that they have to look out for themselves. If you want to invest in something, invest in real self defense classes, survival classes, etc. They'll become empowered and get self-confidence out of that, not the sense that the world is so scary that they have to be monitored every second.

ever.

One, it's an invasion of privacy and human dignity, even if it's only intended for use in emergencies. If it exists, then it can be misused.

Two, you don't know the long term ramifications to a person's health nearly well enough to justify endangering your children. Implanting a chip under someone's skin for years on end could end up causing infections, skin disease, leukemia, cancer, and/or a host of other conditions. The technology is too new to be considered completely safe.

Last but not least, I'd consider it unneccessary. If you teach your kids reasonable safety, they're in little danger of getting killed or injured in a woodland environment. It's considerably safer than a city or even a suburb. And kidnappings by non-guardians are really relatively rare.

If you really want to keep track of your kids, I'd advise giving them cell phones. It lets you stay in touch, and you can still get a cell phone's GPS emergency beacon tracked in the event of a disappearence or kidnapping.

I don't raise children so not going to disrespect those who do by making a guess as to if I would or would not place one in a child. I keep seeing people speak of the potential for misuse? What misuses are there in a parent being able to track the whereabouts of a child.

The chip company would have to have access to the location info in order to give it to you.

And any third party possessing the info would be open to misuse / abuse.

own safety? After all, adults are in much more dangerous situations than kids most of the time - work and driving and stores where people can rampage. Kids are mostly in school - which is the safest environment anyone can be in - and at home.

Turn the deal around: when would the chip be used - when the kid's an hour late getting home from school and hasn't called? Or 10 minutes late (because if she's drowned, waiting an hour is too late.) What are the rules you're thinking (and you don't have to tell me, just think them through.)

Whatever the deal is, turn it around: Would you be comfortable if your partner could check your location if you're 20 minutes late getting home from work? Or if you could check to see where your partner goes for lunch? If you consider that acceptable in your relationship, to sneak and peek without informing that you're doing it, then you should be willing to also get chips when your kids get them.

If that's not okay, then it's not okay to do to your children. A fair deal is a fair deal if it's fair when it's turned around.

Besides, swim, orienteering and self-defense would be of far more use if you're worried about their safety, and better for their confidence. If you child ends up in a lake and out of her depth, the chip will only let you find her corpse. But swim and survival lessons will let you find your living - if possibly hypothermic and scared - child.

Which would you rather have?

You hear of 13-year olds disapearing all the time - that's not too old. We have them in our cars - aren't our children more important than our cars!? It's not an invasion of privacy if you don't abuse it - and you obviously respect your children and care about them greatly, so there's worries there. I'd do it if I had children!

Having a chip in a pet is one thing, but your child? Never, ever would I do that! Invasion of privacy is putting it mildly, IMCPO. That's BIG BROTHER at it's WORST.

to either of your kids is so small. we are in half a decade environment where fear is so pumped into us, that we would actually put a chip in our children. i would never live my life in this fear, nor project it to my children and being so invasive as putting a chip into a child. i have an 8 and 10 year old. i too worry about their safety. some would say i am overprotective. i would never chip my kid

There is much more required to implement a system which can track itself via GPS and transmit the data with a strong enough signal. The power source alone would be a killer, along with needing an antenna and amplifier. There are small (non implanted) GPS units for just such a purpose. I believe several members of the Mexican government signed up for both an implanted RFID chip and an external GPS this year.

no way would I create the slippery slope that will create the loss of all privacy for all of us in the future. No. Way.