'Little Buddy Child Tracker' Rolled Out

The Little Buddy Child Tracker is a GPS device that an anxious parent can place in their child's backpack or lunch box to make certain that they know the whereabouts of their child at all times. The Little Buddy sends a signal to a computer or smart phone.

The Little Buddy Child Tracker appears to be similar to a device called Kinderguard that was introduced in Great Britain several years ago. Like the Little Buddy Child Tracker, Kinderguard is meant to allow parents to know where their children are and to alert them if the kids leave where they are supposed to be, like a school

Kinderguard, unlike the Little Buddy Child Tracker, has a biometric alert system that will monitor the child's health and wellbeing using biosigns such as heart rate, respiration, and so on.

Devices such as the Little Buddy Child Tracker are not without their critics. Civil libertarians see a danger of governments using the technology to keep track of adults in order to keep tabs on their activities. Of course governments already do that with paroled prisoners, compelling them to wear an ankle bracelet that alerts law enforcement if they leave places where they are allowed to be. Complaints about the Little Buddy Child Tracker leading to a surveillance state is sort of like complaining about an unlocked barn after the horses have fled.

The other caveat about the Little Buddy Child Tracker is the ease with which it can be removed. A kid who wants to ditch school, for example, can hide his Little Buddy Child Tracker in his locker or some other place and his parents would be none the wiser. The first thing that a kidnapper would do would be to remove the Little Buddy Child Tracker before carrying the kid away. (The Kinderguard has a feature that alerts the parent if the device is separated from the child.)