If you want to have a better idea of where your child is at any specific time, and also where they have been, you may consider having them wear a GPS tracker. When you search for GPS trackers for tracking children you find many different trackers with a variety of features, but what are some things to consider when choosing the right GPS tracker for your child? Here are some of the essential features to consider when purchasing a GPS tracker for your child, and which trackers we feel perform the best.
- Two-way calling: You may find this to be one of the most important features for your use case. This allows your child, even as young as 5, to place a call to a specific phone number from the device when needed. You would also have the ability as a parent/guardian to place a call to the tracker from your phone. This two-way calling feature may not be included with a majority of devices, so if it is an important feature to you, make sure to confirm what sort of communication you can get out of the device before purchasing.
- Durability/waterproof: Kid trackers can take a beating. Small children are not always as mindful or gentle with electronics so you want to keep durability in mind when choosing a tracker for your child. The device could potentially be dropped, left outside, and/or exposed to weather and moisture in the care of a small child. For these reasons, you will want a tracker that can take a few licks and keep on tracking.
- Location based alerts: For many parents it is important to know when their child enters or exits a specific area such as school grounds, someone’s house, a specific address etc. So it is important to find a device that will notify you every time they enter or exit a specific location (this is often called a geofence). Look for features regarding geofence notifications, like how will you be notified when a geofence is entered/exited. (Text, email, call). Also important to be able to set multiple geofences when there are several places you need to know your child made it safely to, or if they ever left a specific location.
- Monthly fees: It’s important to understand how much you are going to pay and what you will be paying for when purchasing a device to track your child. Most GPS trackers require a monthly fee, so be sure to read the fine print beforehand to see if there are any contracts or subscription costs. Monthly fees can range from $15 to $50 a month. Ideally, you’ll look for a no-contract plan you can cancel anytime. The last thing you want is for you to be locked into a contract even if something happens to your device.
- Battery life– The more frequent the device reports its location, the more quickly it will use up its battery life. Also, battery size/life is often in direct proportion to how big the device can be, so consider this when trying to find a super small tracker with long battery life. You likely cannot have both, but you can find a balance between size-to-battery life that should fit your tracking needs. You should first consider how often you need the tracker to report, then find which of those devices also have an acceptable battery life for your use. Consider features that let the device sleep when not moving so it conserves battery only when needed. Trackers with extra batteries can also be an important feature to look for so that you are never stuck waiting on your device to recharge instead of tracking your child.
Top GPS Kid Trackers:
1.) Yepzon GPS Tracker- The Yepzon GPS Tracker is our first choice and best rated device for keeping track of your kids. It is a small device that can be easily attached as a lanyard or keychain. This device offers GPS tracking, 3G tracking, Wi-Fi indoor tracking, and an alarm feature all in one. By pressing the button on the device a parent/guardian can be immediately notified of your child’s location with pinpoint accuracy.
2.) Angel Sense- Angel Sense is the only GPS tracker specifically designed for children with special needs while also offering voice monitoring solutions. Get a text when your child leaves school boundaries while also getting a real time map update of the transit routes. You can “listen in” to your device to find out what your child is hearing while they are away from you. You can also see how fast the device was traveling at certain points in time.
3.) TraxPlay- This small and lightweight device offers great international coverage, wireless charging, and waterproof functionality. We found this to be an extra rugged tracker. Features include, geofences, proximity alerts, augmented reality, speed alerts and location labels. Easily track your child in real time and get a better peace of mind where they are at all times.