Thursday 21 January 2010

Teen Tracking Helps You Balance Privacy And Safety

By Todd Cavanaugh

Balancing privacy and safety for teenagers can be a serious challenge for parents. If teens have reached driving age, they believe they should have some freedom to go places with friends and to do things without a parent in tow. If your teens are responsible, you want to honor their need for freedom. But there is also a parent's need to be assured of their child's safety. Parents want to know where their kids are, who they are with, and that they are safe. Balancing their desire to be free and make their own decisions with your need to know they are safe is an age-old parental dilemma. Teen tracking technology can help you solve this problem.

Teen tracking technology gives parents the tools to help their teenaged children exercise the freedom they want while also letting parents know where they are and if they are safe. If, for example, your teen's car is equipped with a GPS device, you can monitor driving speed, receive alerts when it is time to service the vehicle, know the current location of the vehicle, receive alerts if the vehicle is moved or stolen, and even create "geo-fences" around areas your teens are or are not permitted to visit.

When used by parents with respect for the responsibility of their children, teen tracking can offer clear benefits without crossing the line into spying. You can use teen tracking devices to provide assistance to your teenaged drivers, as well. For example, traffic alerts can notify them that there is an accident ahead. It can also provide immediately a detour route that will take them around the accident to save time. This could prevent your teen from becoming lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Some teen tracking systems also allow them to request driving directions to specific locations by the name of the enterprise instead of a street address. And some provide voice directions.

Teen tracking can be used in several ways to keep your child safe:

-- when your teen driver exceeds the speed limit

-- when your engine or tires need maintenance

-- monitor approved and unapproved locations

-- monitor when someone else is in the car with your teenager

-- help the teen driver improve driving skills

-- where your teen spends most of his or her time

-- provide teen tracking historical information about driving habits that can be shared with insurance companies

Here are some facts you might want to share with your teenager to help him or her understand your concerns:

-- The number one cause of death among teenagers is automobile accident.

-- One in seven teen drivers will have an accident within their first year of driving.

-- For every 20 teenagers in the U.S., one will die or be seriously injured in an auto accident each year.

-- The knowledge of being monitored may reduce the chances of your teen being involved in a serious crash.

-- The knowledge of being monitored could provide the only reason your teen needs to resist peer pressure to make bad choices.

When used in the right ways, teen tracking can also help you protect your child from becoming a victim of crime. Surely teenagers want to know they are safe. Yet teens (ages 12 - 19) are more frequently the victims of most types of crimes than any other age group. The ability of the teen tracking technology to locate the vehicle immediately or to alert you if the vehicle is moved or stolen (or car-jacked) could get help to your child before a crime occurs.

Every parent knows the crime statistics. We all know that teens are the most likely people to go missing. We all know there has been a recent increase in child abduction and in human trafficking. An inexperienced teenager, lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood and stranded by a vehicle breakdown is most at risk of becoming a victim of crime. The ability to quickly locate and send appropriate help to your teen could mean the difference between life and death.

With mutual respect and trust, you and your teen can agree upon ways to use teen tracking to balance privacy and safety. Teen tracking devices are readily available, complete with all the features you believe will enhance your child's safety. Teen tracking devices are quite affordable, especially when you consider all the things that could happen. Isn't it worth the time, the cost, and the conversation with your child to install the teen tracking device that will help your teen and help you feel more comfortable that he or she is safe?

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