Does anyone else not track their tween's location?

[Anonymous]

I was recently at a Middle School gathering and a lot of the other parents were in a conversation about tracking their kids' locations.

Did anyone else not do this? Will I regret not setting something up? They currently have a smart watch but not smart phone. It's not an apple watch so it wasn't built it with a tracker as far as I can tell.

[Anonymous]

My kids are high school age and older now. I tracked one kid (did not trust him) and I did not track the other (I trusted him).

[Anonymous]

I don’t track my kids.

[Anonymous]

I don’t.

[Anonymous]

I have never tracked my kids (they are 21 and 19 now). I am definitely in the minority among parents I know, but I have always felt it was a step away from microchipping your kid.

[Anonymous]

We have iphones so find my phone is there. I rarely check though. I think it creates more anxiety than it relieves in addition to sending the message to kids that they can’t be trusted or are constantly in danger.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't track any of my kids. my 7th grader doesn't have a phone. my high schoolers have phones but I don't track them.

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader has an applewatch. I do occasionally track her if she has not arrived home within a reasonable and expected timeframe but I admit I could just as easily call or text. She walks home by herself from school, which is about a mile.

[Anonymous]

My teen is now a sophomore in college and I have never tracked her.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 17, 17, 14 and I have "find my phone" for each of them but I rarely use it.

My 17 year old son is super social and went through a "I'm going to attend every teen party in the DMV" phase when he was newly 16. I used it a bunch then because I never knew if he was in Potomac or DC or Arlington or Chevy Chase or... ?

Thankfully he's phased out of that. It's been a good 6 months since I ever checked to see where he is and months since he's even been to a party. I think he got it out of his system, plus junior year has just been a beast at school. Lots of weekends spent catching up on sleep and doing homework vs. socializing non-stop.

[Anonymous]

I track mine so I can meet them for pickups. For example—When they take the bus home, I track so I can know when they will arrive at the drop off (it’s private school, so the pickup is far from our house), I track them when they are coming back on the team bus from a game, so I know when they arrive back at school. Things like that.

They can also track me so that when I’m coming to get them they can figure out where I am if I’m late. This is nice bc I don’t get calls asking where I am when I’m trying to drive.

[Anonymous]

I do! I’m a single parent to three teens. I trust them to come home by curfew but exhausted and asleep. Life 360 helps me sleep well knowing I can trust they’ll get home on time.

[Anonymous]

I understand all the reasons it’s problematic. I do. But remember they’re all tracking each other on stupid Snapmap! And when my college age dd used my phone to find hers recently she discovered she had shared her location with me at some prior time when we were coordinating a pickup and learning that she still didn’t bother unsharing it. I think it’s actually kinda normal for kids to assume everyone can see where everyone is.

[Anonymous]

I used to track so much when she first started driving. I just needed the assurance that she was getting to the right place. And since it was already set-up, I continue to use it a little. I like that I get a little beep when she decides to leave school so I can have a conversation later. And I like that it lets me know when she gets home/leaves home. Just those little notifications are helpful. I will not track her next year when she is in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have iphones so find my phone is there. I rarely check though. I think it creates more anxiety than it relieves in addition to sending the message to kids that they can’t be trusted or are constantly in danger.

I think about this, too.