What the…?
My parents were wildly permissive during our childhood. They trusted us, and we gave them little grief in return. Until our adolescent years, of course. From my brother, I learned how to land safely on feet from a second-story window. I am definitely not going to share any of my adventures with my daughter (or on this very public blog!), but then again, she’ll probably have a few of her own never-for-parents stories. So should I think about getting this? If you strap your kid with one of these, you can effectively track their whereabouts to a 98-yard radius!!
Yeah, I can imagine it. Fifteen years from now, I wake up at 2 a.m. and discover that my daughter’s not in her bedroom. And I hope that she’s taken her phone with her - or perhaps a tracking device attached to her vehicle. And I also hope that she has yet to pull an Audrey Rains on her way downtown or to wherever she’s clearly headed for some no-good rendevousing. But technology of course comes to the rescue - and just twenty minutes later, Daddy’s dragging Daughter by the ear out of the door admist a crowd of confused, lost teenagers. Despite her tears, rants, and protests, we snuggle back serenely back into our bed for the remainder of the night. Much easier to do if you’re deaf parents, btw.
Is this realistic? Will this start coming to us - in droves across the nation? Will middle-aged adults suddenly join the line at Heaven & Hell in Adams Morgan? Or Brickskellar in Dupont Circle? Holding up their GPS devices in one hand and pictures of their kids in the other? Well, with the new smoking ban taking effect, maybe their patronage will actually help business again boom.
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6 Comments
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Big Brother at home is OK, but Big Brother in government is not? Is there enough a line between the two? :)
Big Brother is an irrational Orwellian fear. I would know, I did my research paper on it.
There is a delicate balance between security and privacy. The slippery slope argument that we’re falling towards a world like “1984″ is a leap from a single new innovation that somewhat calms the minds of worried parents.
Nice new pic. :) But back to the topic– I disagree. Kids and parents got along fine without harnesses, GPS systems, invisible fences, and the like for thousands of years.
So why the sudden need now?
I don’t think it’s realistic, although I’m sure there’s tons of people out there that will run out and buy these things. But relying on technology does not substitute for responsible parenting. One of the passages parents must go through is letting go, realizing that their children are in that netherworld between childhood and adulthood, and trusting that you’ve taught them and raised them well enough that they will do the right thing. Knowing when and where to set boundaries, enforce rules, play the heavy, and even harder, knowing when to let go and pick and choose battles.
I don’t think it helps that the media sensationalizes cases where things went awry; for every missing kid in Aruba, there’s thousands of kids that turn out reasonably well.
Another thought– are the harnesses/tracking systems/what have you for the kids, or are they for YOU, the parent? What do such items teach kids?
Just my two cents…
JT’s Husband: Big Brother — perhaps; with the passing of the Patriot Act and other dubious initatives by the present governmental regime, things are a little different than even a few years ago. Bush’s wiretapping program is a small example. And “Big Brother” is firmly ingrained in our vocabulary now as a pejorative (derogatory) term to describe overly enthusiastic surveillance attempts. Heck, they’re using red light cameras to solve crimes (even though they swore up and down that they’d only be used for speeding tickets), it’s not much of a stretch to keep on going down that slope…
Definitaly bushwhacked, aint we.
What’s next for our kids? Electric fences to keep them contained? =P
I’m raising my son in an environment that does not restrict him physically. Instead we are building a collaborative relationship through trust. He’s only an infant but for now that strategy is working. ;)