Every parent knows that it’s scary to not know where their kids are. Luckily, today’s parents have plenty of tools to help them stay connected with their kids. Smartphones, with their texting, voice and video chat, and instant messaging capabilities are a big part of that. You can touch base with your child almost any time that you want to.
But what if they’re not answering the phone? What happens if they do answer, but you’re not sure that they’re being honest about where they are and who they’re with? How can you keep your child safe if you don’t have all of the information?
One way to make sure that you have the information that you need to protect your child is by using GPS tracking on your child’s smartphone. Since most teens will go out of their way to keep their phones on them, if you can find the phone you can usually find the teen as well.
Most smartphones come with their own GPS tracking that can give you the phone’s general location, though it may not pinpoint an exact address. Parental monitoring apps like Webwatcher can give you an even more accurate picture of your teen’s location. Take a look at some of the scenarios in which a phone tracking app can come in handy.
When You Need to Know Where They Are
It’s just a reality of life that teens don’t always tell their parents the truth. In fact, it’s pretty normal for teenagers to want to keep some things to themselves. While this tendency to hide things can be aggravating for parents, it can sometimes be harmless.
Maybe your teen wants to assert themselves as an independent person, avoid talking about something that they think you won’t understand or keep a romantic relationship to themselves for a while before they discuss it with anyone else. And sometimes teens are simply secretive or standoffish, which can make you think they’re lying about where they go and who they’re seeing, whether your thoughts are warranted or not.
But while a teen hiding something about where they go or who they see may not always be a sign of serious trouble, sometimes it can be. Teens who are experimenting with drugs or alcohol or who are involved in an inappropriate relationship may also be evasive about where they’re going or how they’re spending their time out of the house.
And whether a teen is telling white lies or more serious ones, teens don’t always think about the danger it can put them in when no one knows the truth about where they are. Even if your teen is doing something fairly innocuous, they could be in danger if an unexpected emergency arises during a time when nobody knows where they really are. This is an important reason to make sure that you do know that your teen is actually where they say they are.
With phone tracking, you can check on your teen and make sure that they are wherever it is that they’re supposed to be. If they tell you they’re staying late at school to work on a project, you can track the phone and find out if they’re really at school or if they’re someplace else.
When You Need to Know Where They’ve Been
Sometimes, even if you know where your teen is at the moment, you want to know where it is that they’ve been. For example, say that your teen left for school in the morning at the usual time, but then you got a call from the school later in the day informing you that your student had missed class. What does that mean? Where were they when they were supposed to be in class?
With phone tracking, you can check the location tracking for the timeline of where the phone has been and when. That means that you can find out if your child left school early that day, or if they never made it to school in the first place, or if they were actually on campus all day long. You don’t have to simply take your child’s word for it if you’re not certain that they’re telling the truth about why they missed class – you can follow up and verify their story.
When You Can’t Find Them
Then there’s the worst-case scenario: your teen isn’t home, they aren’t answering their phone, and you don’t know where they are. Was there an accident? Did they run away? Were they kidnapped? As a parent, you’re always uncomfortably aware that bad things do happen in the world, and while you never anticipate them happening to your child, the possibility is always there.
In these scenarios, phone tracker apps can be a literal lifesaver. Missing teens have been located in similar situations by using smartphone GPS and also phone tracking software. If your teen is in some sort of danger, but they have their smartphone on them and turned on, then phone tracking software can be a literal lifeline, allowing you to find them more quickly than otherwise would be possible.
Other Benefits of Monitoring Software
Parental monitoring software has benefits beyond just allowing you to track your child’s whereabouts. A good parental monitoring software can allow you to monitor your child’s texts, phone calls, instant messages, and internet use.
With these tools, you can be on the alert for signs of trouble and may be able to stop your teen from misleading you about where they’re going, running away, or walking into some sort of dangerous situation before it happens. Often, signs of trouble are evident in your teen’s words and actions before they escalate to the point where you need to use tracking software to find your teenager. But having the tracking software offers you greater peace of mind.
Webwatcher offers parental monitoring software with all of the features that you’re looking for to help keep your teenager safe. To find out more about how parental monitoring software can work for your family, get our risk free trial.
