Would you consider implanting a GPS chip [or similar technology] in your child's body?

I don’t have children, but no fucking way.

That scares the shit out of me. Dogs and cats is one thing, but people…

In a child of mine under the current legal age of 18yrs old, I believe I’d do it and then have it removed later. I’m editing to say as tempting as it would be to monitor my pre teen or teenager’s movements or whereabouts, I’d resist unless they went missing overnight or longer which would be a breach of my rules. My concern would be for their safety not as control tool. If my child became an legally emancipated minor before 18yrs old, I’d have the chip removed at that time.

More control!no way.

I was thinking that too – I wouldn’t want to leave it there once they reached adulthood.

I’m sitting here thinking, “no way!” Then I realized that I paid to have my dogs and cat, implanted with a microchip. What does that say about me?

I think I would consider it, but I have reservations. I would wonder exactly what would be held in the information. I don’t know.

How else will Big Brother know where they are? I’m sure I already got mine during my last military physical.

As sad as it is to admit it, yes I would. The fear of them being kidnapped or lost scares the shit out of me. Unfortunately I think it would be too tempting to find out where they are all the time.

Not only no, but hell no!
You can protect your child but implanting your child with a GPS device is cruel and causes an unhealthy relatioship between the parent and child.

The last thing we need is for 19 year olds to be running around at college whil their parents track their movements.

Parents need to cut the cord at some point.

I know you wouldn’t do that but there are parents that absolutely will.

As long as it had a self-destruct button. That’ll teach the kidnappers. Got my kid? Well watch this! BOOM! It might make them think twice, those bastards!

(I DO have my own straight jacket. White. It goes with everything.)

Dogs and cats cannot tell people who they belong to and can slip a collar thus a tracking chip is a great idea.

~For humans?
~Why stop there?
~Why not install a LoJack system on each newborn?
(~ denoting sarcasm)

If such a program was implemented it would be abused.

The chip could be removed by kidnappers or it could be used to stalk kids by computer savvy pedophiles thus completely backfiring in it’s illusion of security

Also having a chip would likely make some parents feel that they did not need to watch their child as closely since they could simply track them when they were curious as to where they were.

However I would us a bracelet type device if we were hiking, swimming in a lake or camping. One that is removable but if the child is missing can help find them fast.

It takes 30 seconds for a stranger to grab your child and disappear. Unless you want to keep your child in the house every day you have to face this. Even if I’m standing 10 feet away from my child, a large strong man could drive up, snatch my kid, and drive off, and there’s absolutely nothing I could do about it.
I teach my kids about danger, but I do not want to make them so scared that they can’t function. If the police could track my child I would have a better chance of getting him back safely. Then again, I’m sure a kidnapper could get a hand held device to scan for the chip, and dig it out of the skin.
Just thinking about this makes me sick.

Yeah. Do we not think, If a person is so inclined as to rape and murder a child, that person would not hesitate to cut the chip out of the kid? And when he/she finds it, it incenses the kidnapper?

I wouldn’t implant a GPS device in my kids, but I wouldn’t mind having something like a bracelet, or something that could be insterted into a shoe. Not permanent, removable, but could possibly be used in the case of an emergency. At some point though, it would have to go. I can’t imagine many teens who would agree to wear something like that, and relying on it would be misleading. The GPS might show that the kid is at a friend’s house, but does that really mean the kid is there?

Just get them a cell phone. Most of them have GPS technology that can be easily likened to a microchip of sorts.

But a microchip, I don’t think so. They’re not like a cat or dog

@Dog – ah! Hospitals do use baby LoJack! (not sure about it’s true brand name.)

I see your point, dogs can’t tell you where they live – neither can babies and small children, though. Also, some people, in high stress situations, might lose the ability to tell you who they are or where they live. If a patient is catatonic, they can’t give information. If a patient is comatose, they can’t give information. Say they found someone (clearly a victim of a crime) in that situation – the identifying marker could help.

As far as a murderer, rapist or some other criminal getting even angrier over the prospect of something like this – they find those reasons, already. Phones with GPS. Different items have it, as well – think laptops. You can get LoJack on those, people can be tracked.

The technology is already out there, it’s just not in wide practice. I would be more likely to want a bracelet or something like that, but I cannot rule out some kind of implanted device. I see the benefits and drawbacks. Not sure what I really would do, if I was in a position to really need to make the decision.

@Dog – you do make very good points, though. I just don’t know where I am on my opinion. I just wish we lived in times where we didn’t even have to consider this possibility.

Just because a kid has lojack does not mean they will be safe. Parents these days really have control issues.

Well, if you want to browse the GPS possiblities, you can try this site. Pretty expensive (and fun to browse the other “spy” products!).

@tinyfaery nothing can guarantee safety. If taking steps to prevent my child from being raped, tortured and killed is going too far, then I guess I have “control issues”.
Honestly, I understand that the chip (or anything else) can’t guarantee anything. I understand it may be considered a breach of trust, but when my mind even begins to imagine the things that could happen to my child, reasoning goes out the window.
The thing is, you are right about going too far, but a parent has a hard time drawing that line because that kid is the most important thing in the world to them.

Never. Not only because there’s no way for you to know who else could possibly be tracking your child, but also for numerous other reasons. Invasion of privacy would become a huge issue as they got older and too many parents would see it as an easy parenting solution, when actually it’d be the exact opposite.

People are becoming way too scared. There have always been creeps, weirdos and assholes. In relation to population growth, I really don’t think there are more now than there ever were. People have been successfully raising their children for hundreds and hundreds of years. I don’t see why now, all of a sudden, we need to actually implant something into our children to keep them safe.

It’s a little too paranoid for my tastes.

Well, I don’t have kids…but no.

A cell phone is much easier to do if you want to track then via GPS. Also, I think implanting a chip into a kid gives them the wrong message. children want to feel like they are trusted by their parents and implanting them with a chip and tracking them just gives the wrong message.

Plus, we’ve all grown up without chips…and we ended up okay.

@elijahsuicide “reasoning goes out the window.” You just described one of the main reasons I do not want kids. I cannot imagine subjecting another human being, especially one that I am “responsible for”, to crazy, whacked-out, unreasonable behavior and/or beliefs, all in the name of having their “best interest” at heart.

@tinyfaery All the more reason to learn how to control one’s emotions.

@tinyfaery twist it however you want, my point was when you love someone as much as a parent loves a child, you are willing to jump over the moon to protect them. People without children can not understand this. I used to roll my eyes when people said that, and thought parents needed to chill. Once I had a kid I realized it was true. It is unbelievable the lengths a parent will go to protect a child.
I’m not saying a microchip is right or wrong. Im just saying if it raises my child’s chance of being found alive, I’m willing to consider it.

@elijahsuicide I don’t think I was twisting anything. And I do have a child. I would go to any necessary length to protect him. Surgically implanting a homing device on him is, in my opinion, unnecessary and more than a little paranoid. I don’t think that reasoning should ever go out the window, especially when it comes to protecting my child.

[edit: I see that you were directing your last statement to tinyfaery. I don’t think she was twisting anything you said.]

@cak- I sadly agree- it is unfortunate that we even have to consider such things. Really sad.

When I was a little kid- not that long ago- I played out side and rode my bike all over till dinnertime. Now we are considering technology implants in our kids who are never out of out sight to begin with. They will never know the freedom of going out and just exploring the world and nature with friends. They are conditioned to be afraid and suspicious.

Sad indeed.

You may have no choice.

When a government run health care system is introduced, one of the requirements, for everyone will be a Verichip, which combined with Verimed Health Link and Microsoft Health Vault. It will be rolled out to the public, as a no brainer, since you will all be getting free health care. Woopdy frickin doo.

As this thread and most of my conversations prove, the sheep are asking for a totalitarian police state.

That’s so creepy. Interestingly, their “privacy policy” isn’t even viewable. Ha.

All I’m saying is the world is getting worse. It would be wonderful if my kids could go out and play the way I did, leave in the morning and come back by dinner. Sadly, it’s not safe now. I know bad people have always been around, but it is getting worse. I don’t want to have to go to extremes to protect my kids, I don’t want to be like that. People have no problem putting a chip in an animal, because heaven forbid Sparky gets lost. You’re not willing to protect your child to the same extent? I just don’t get it. Kids have surgery all the time. You will put tubes in a kids ears to prevent ear infections but you won’t put a tiny chip in the kids heel to possibly save his life?
Again, I am not saying I want to go to extreme measures, but there are so many sick people in this world. I understand it’s not ideal and there could be negative aspects as well, but I think it’s worth considering.

Why dont we all just get microchips and let the government protect us from all of the evil people?
and well get free health care

@elijahsuicide It has never been safe. The media has blown violence aginst children out of proportion. Kids are no more unsafe today then they were when I was a kid—70s and early 80s FYI.

Lojack isn’t 100%. They do not always find your child, I mean your car.

Oh, and I do not chip my animals. It is my responsibility to keep them inside, if I fuck up, it’s my problem

According to the FBI- 85% to 90% of the people reported missing are juveniles. From 1982 to 2000 the kidnapping rate rose 468%.
I can’t copy and paste from my iPhone so there is a paraphrased version.
My point being it is not as safe as it used to be.

Umm…. no… I’ll take my chances with the kidnappers.. you can’t protect your kids from all the evils of the world.. a bloody GPS CHIP in your child’s body definitely fits under the label over-protective.

1984 anybody?

NEVER!
You need to trust your children
Simple

Yes, all three of my daughters have one implanted. They’re not allowed to leave the house though, so I’m not sure I will ever need to use it!

Go watch Finding Nemo a few more times.

I’m a “no” kinda gal. You know cell phones are pretty prevalent these days and even young kids can use simple ones. That is pretty good as far as safety along with traditional safety techniques. I’m sure that if everyone started doing this the black market would come out with some technique to allow kidnappings and such to still happen. I just don’t believe that the government wouldn’t use these “chips” to their advantage (and ultimately our disadvantage). Not to mention the unknown health effects.

Plus, why do people assume that you would be the only one able to track your child? Couldn’t some of the scary individuals that prey on the young that everyone has been talking about hack into the tracking device and know exactly where you child is 24/7? Technology is a double edged sword

I wonder (JUST CURIOUS) how many of the people who said no to this have a NEWBORN OR A TODDLER. This does not come under the heading “overprotective” or “crazy” when you’re talking about a newborn or a toddler. I mean at present, not used to have a toddler. Like Elijah said, when you do, you would go to any length to protect them. I agree with her when she said before she had a kid she did not understand or appreciate the desire to do anything to protect a kid. This to me comes under the heading “common sense.” we’re not talking about tracking a teen’s movements at the mall or at a party. we’re talking about a little baby who could be picked up and whisked away in a heartbeat, who could not talk and tell someone his real name or address.

@jca I would go to any lengths to protect my child. Very very true. And to me that means saving them from needless persecution. I guess protection means different things for different people.

@RedPowerLady: your comment about needless persecution lost me. can you explain further?

People who consider using GPS implants or external devices are persecuted by those who believe it is overbearing, stalkerish, and an invasion of privacy.

That do it for ya?

@jca It is in reference to a discussion we had above. But basically I am arguing that by being able to track people based on any number of characteristics those in power would have greater access to needlessly persecute people. I posted several examples above as to how this is happening now without the chips and how having the chips would make it much easier. For example the government targeted and killed people from activist movements in the 60s and 70s. And today they are targeting people’s religious rights. If they could identify people through these chips then they would have much easier access for these types of acts. It sad to think they happen but they do happen over and over again throughout history. And since I am from a “minority culture” I have seen it happen and would not want to subject my children to it. In fact most people I know have been harmed more times by those in power than have had to worry about a missing child (the benefit of the chip). So to me the good does not outweigh the bad in this circumstance.

@squirbel Actually, in most circumstances, you have to have power to persecute someone. Obviously those who use the chips or implant the chips have greater power over those who don’t. Ya there may be bias and even some harsh circumstances towards people who advocate for it but certainly not persecution. However the reverse is obviously possible.

@squirbel: why the sarcastic comment at the end?

That’s not sarcasm.

It says what it means straight out, no double meaning, no veiled intent.

@squirbel: “that do it for ya?” that was not sarcastic? it sounded that way to me.

in the future, most people will. this was predicted 2,000 years ago as the mark of the beast. see: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16–17

I agree with ica – to me this is NOT about teenagers at the mall this is about the very small unpolitical newborns and toddlers who cannot use a cell phone or tell someone their address. I don’t trust that a kidnapper wouldn’t toss out any and every GPS accessory stashed on their clothes or in a child’s diaper bag. Honestly, if I could just weave some GPS tracking hair into my kid’s hair I would but I don’t see anything like that coming out any time soon, like that being something hard to quickly toss out, less invasive than a chip and still virtually undetectable to kidnappers. People who do not have very small cute kids who are constantly noticed, spoken to, pulled aside by strangers simply don’t and won’t get it – period. I have no desire to track my kids as adults but, yes I would like something on or with them that could easily show their location if they were ever hard to find.

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. I would in less than a heart beat. I have always been an advocate of that. The crucial time to find a kid gone missing is the 1st 48 hours, after that the chances of finding them, much less alive, drops into the cellar. At best you would find them much later alive like Shawn Hornbeck, Elizabeth Smart, Steven Stayner years before, Tara Burke and Jaycee Dugard Imagine what horror they could have been spared had they been able to be located in the 1st 48? What if they wondered off and got injured with no one around?

People Low Jack their vehicles, chip their pets and won’t chip their child? The pets and vehicle are replaceable the child is not. One would think the child would have way more value and be more worth protecting then the truck or the Terrier.

The big myth, any chip would let you or the government spy on your kids or your family movements. If the chip or locator was dormant until the child goes missing and then activated but only with 2 sets of activation codes like the missile down in the silos, no one can do any spying, not the parents, not the government.

Big myth number 2; they those crafty devils that prey on children will be able to find it and dig it out, or hack into the program and disable it. C’mon, really? Are those guys REALLY that smart? If they were, they would not be getting caught and be building rockets or something. They want to have sex with the kid not perform minor surgery.

Someone that is so paranoid and selfish as to believe their rights will be trampled if going the extra mile to keep their kids safe while taking such measure to protect replaceable stuff I could not imagine.