Parent Gossip

As a parent of two pre-teen girls I know only too well how important it is to keep track of what they are doing, and where. They are starting to stretch their wings and want more freedom to go out independently with their friends, farther afield than the back garden or the end of the street. Until now it was impossible for a parent to keep tabs on their children without hovering in the playground or chaperoning all the way to friends’ houses.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, all of this changed! The launch of the new Num8 watch promises to be the first tracking device that is specifically designed to monitor children. It is being made by a British company, Lok8u and will cost around £149. This is the first of its kind so I feel we can expect to see the price drop as more manufacturers pick up on the new technology. Besides, what price would you put on peace of mind?
The Num8 looks exactly like any ordinary digital watch, although it is more of a boys’ style watch than a girl’s. Perhaps a new pink model will follow soon to make it more appealing? It contains a clever little GPS chip like the one you have in your sat nav in your car. Accurate to within 3 meters this impressive little device transmits constantly to the Num8’s dedicated website, where parents can keep an eye on where their little tearaways are.
An additional feature is a text message service, whereby parents can receive a sms regarding their child’s location. These come directly from the Num8 device and contain the street address for ease of location.
Previous attempts by electronics firms to offer GPS tracking for parents have been even more expensive and have involved very expensive mobile phones and devices that are too easily lost or stolen. By contract, once the Num8 is on the child’s wrist it stays there until the parent takes it off! If the Num8 is taken off or stolen an alarm is tripped and a sms is sent directly to the parent’s phone.
It may sound a little like a criminal monitoring system or an ideal cop out for lazy parents, but the designers claim that the Num8 will allow children more freedom to explore their world and that has to be a good thing since statistics show that only 20% of british children are allowed to play outdoors!
The Num8 could be the answer that thousands of parents of pre-teen and teenage children are searching for. If the design can be updated and made a little more attractive for fashion conscious girls then I will most certainly be investing in a couple for my own kids and my peace of mind!