Keeping Your Child Safe: Personal Emergency Response Devices vs Trackers Like AirTags

Parents face a lot of tough tasks – and one of the toughest is knowing how to balance independence and responsibility for your child.

You’ll want your child to have age-appropriate freedom to explore your neighborhood. If they have a car, they may be driving to school or around town as well. If you’re in a city, they might be taking the subway or a bus.

At the same time, it’s very natural for parents to be concerned about their child’s safety when they go out alone. More than 2,000 children go missing in the USA every day. And many children who aren’t reported missing still find themselves in situations where they are alone and need an adult’s help.

How can parents balance these concerns?

Some parents turn to simple GPS trackers like AirTags so that they know their kids’ location. But this isn’t always enough.

A better and more sophisticated way to protect your child is a personal emergency response device.

Read on to learn why.

Why do children go missing?

When we think of children who need to be found, we often think of a child who’s been abducted by a stranger. And sadly, it is true that this kind of abduction happens.

But there are also other reasons why kids might need an adult to locate and help them.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, children face a lot of other risks, too.

These include:

• Wandering due to autism – children who are autistic may run away suddenly from home or while they’re in public. This might be because they’ve become distressed or because they’re drawn to a sight of interest. Either way, locating them can be more difficult if they can’t speak or communicate with adults around them.
• Wandering in young children – young kids may simply wander away and become stuck or lost. For example, at a family barbecue outdoors, they may walk beyond the property boundaries and into local woodland or fields. For young children, this can be very dangerous because they aren’t able to find their way home, get out of high or confined places, or care for themselves in extreme weather.
• Abductions by family – sometimes a parent or family member who doesn’t have custody decides to take the child away with them.

Other reasons why children may need help

Even older children are at risk of getting stuck away from home without a way to call for help. Teens are known for being absent-minded, so they can easily forget to charge their phones, fill up on gas, or bring their wallets. Whatever the cause, they can find themselves away from parents without a way to call for assistance and a ride home.

It's also worth considering the possibility of emergencies at school or other locations outside the home. If kids need to speak to parents urgently and they don’t have a phone at hand, a personal emergency response device lets them talk to someone at home in an instant.

If a child has medical conditions like Type 1 diabetes, seizures, or severe allergies, they might also want to call home urgently. These are situations where knowing the child’s location is helpful – but being able to understand the problem is essential.

Why aren’t trackers like AirTags enough?

There are two crucial reasons why AirTags just aren’t sufficient when it comes to your child’s safety.

Firstly, AirTags work by communicating with other Apple devices via Bluetooth to share their location. If no other Apple devices are around, the AirTag can’t tell you where it is. That’s right – although we think of AirTags as GPS trackers, they do not send out a GPS signal.

Secondly, AirTags are not a communication device. They only tell you where they are. But if an emergency occurs, you’ll want to speak to your child – especially if they need your advice and comfort. There’s a huge difference between knowing your child’s location and knowing why they are there and what they need from you.

What a personal emergency response device can do

Personal emergency response devices like the SureSafeGo have a host of features that help you to keep your children safer.

Importantly, they use real GPS tracking, meaning that they work even if an Apple device isn’t around. Parents can track their child’s location in real time.

On top of GPS functionality, there are other critical features that make a huge difference when it comes to protecting your child.

SOS button

An SOS button is a simple functionality that adds a world of safety. It’s a single button that users can press and hold to get help. When the button is pressed, it will dial a family and friends contact that is saved in the device. If the first stored phone number doesn’t pick up, the device will call another, and another. Users can add up to five phone numbers to ensure that the child will always get through to someone when they press the button.

An SOS button is absolutely crucial because it tells parents that something is wrong immediately. An alternative like an AirTag doesn’t raise the alarm in that way, so precious minutes and hours can pass before anyone notices that a child is missing or in danger. In contrast, the SOS button gets help to the child fast.

One great thing about an SOS button is that it’s so easy to use. If a child is too young for a phone, they can often learn to press just one button to speak to family in an emergency. This keeps younger children safe, and it’s also a great option for children with disabilities who might have difficulties managing a phone.

Older children who have a cell phone can benefit from a simple SOS button, too. Kids can lose their phones and forget to charge them.

Two-way communication through the device

Another key aspect of a personal emergency response device is that the user can speak to the helper through it. Obviously, you can’t speak to anyone through a simple tracker like an Air Tag.

A personal emergency response device is great because it lets parents give words of comfort and advice to their children while parents or other helpers are coming to get them. A child who’s lost won’t feel so alone if their parent is speaking to them and reassuring them as they wait to be rescued – and parents will feel reassured that their child is alright.

Two-way communication is important at other times, too. Sometimes, in an emergency situation like a medical crisis, there isn’t time to dial a phone – children need to speak to their parents ASAP. For example, a child with a medical condition could press their SOS button to allow helpful adults nearby to talk to their parents fast and understand what to do.

Confidence and peace of mind

Knowing that parents are just a button-press away is a huge confidence boost for children who are just learning to be more independent. Kids can feel empowered to bike around their neighborhood or get on the bus to school knowing that their parents can locate them and tell them what to do if a crisis happens.

Parents get similar benefits. If they aren’t sure where their child is, they can simply use the GPS tracker to see their child’s location. Otherwise, they can go about their day with peace of mind, knowing that their phone will ring if their child needs them.

Give your children safety and independence with SureSafe

SureSafe has over a decade of expertise in providing personal alert devices that offer protection if emergencies happen. That’s why we know how to provide personal emergency response devices that are affordable, reliable and easy to use.

So, if you want to know how to protect your children when you’re not around, get in touch with us at SureSafe. Fill in our contact form, call our helpline at 888 540 7193, or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, try our live chat or request a call back.