How to Choose the Best GPS Tracker for Kids

Us parents worry about our kids a lot. And the younger the kid, the more we worry. We worry about their safety every time they take the bus to school or go off to visit their friends. But we also worry about stifling them or embarrassing them in front of their friends when we check on their whereabouts. It’s a difficult balance to strike: safety or independence?

A GPS tracker for kids lets you have both. The tracking device will let you know your kids’ whereabouts at all times and send updates straight to your phone. No need for you to call or text them and no need for them to call you. 

But some people consider a tracking device for kids excessively paranoid and helicopter-y. They see it as invading their kids privacy. But it’s not.

Why Your Child Needs a GPS Tracking Device

Elementary students are just beginning to explore the world beyond home and school. They’re starting to value and assert their independence, and building ties with friends that exist outside of playdates and similarly parent-supervised activities. 

While that independence is healthy and should be encouraged, it can also be nerve-wracking for parents. 

There’s also the elephant in the room: American schools are not safe. School shootings, gun violence, and bullying are harsh and undeniable threats to our kids’ safety, and the authorities can’t always be trusted to put our kids’ safety first.

GPS trackers will help parents like you:

• Confirm your kid arrived safely at school or at a friend’s house

• Quickly locate your child in busy places like malls or parks

• Get alerts if your child leaves a safe zone, like the neighborhood

• Use location data to reach them quickly in an emergency

If that sounds amazing to you (and it certainly does to us), then you should probably research what makes a good tracking device for kids. It’s an investment in both personal safety and peace of mind, so your search should be conducted with care. There are a lot of options out there, and it’s easy to accidentally buy the wrong one. 

What to look for in a GPS tracker for kids

When shopping for a GPS locator you want to focus on the following key features:

Portable and convenient to carry

The GPS locator should be small and easy for your child to wear or keep with them. It should fit into a backpack, pocket, or belt pouch. At the same time, it can’t be so small that the child accidentally loses track of it and leaves it somewhere.

Reliability

A safety tracking device is only useful if it works consistently. Look for strong network coverage, accurate location reporting, and a long battery life to make sure you never miss an important update. 

Emergency button

If your kid’s school bans cellphones (and more school districts are doing so), your child will need an accessible and reliable way of reaching out in an emergency. Your child’s GPS tracker should have an emergency button or similar function that immediately pings its location so that you can be alerted.

What to look for in a GPS family locator app

The tracking device itself is important, but that’s only part of the equation. The family locator app that comes with it (usually available on both mobile and desktop) has many important functions that can affect the way you think about your child’s safety. 

These are the most important capabilities the family locator app should have:

Geo tracking

Geo tracking (also known as geofencing) is when you draw a digital boundary around a location like school or even your kid’s bus stop. You can then get notifications every time your kid enters or leaves the area.

Live Link Sharing

Some family locator apps allow you to share the child’s GPS tracker location with others. Create a shareable link and give it to your spouse, grandparents, or babysitter. In fact, one of our employees drives her kid’s soccer team to and from practice, and shares the tracker location with the other parents so they know when they can expect their kids back home. 

GPS Location History

Review past routes and movements so that you have a clearer picture of your child’s day, and for extra peace of mind.

Custom Notifications

The best family locator apps let you customize notifications to prioritize certain activities over others, like the geo tracking we mentioned before. You should also be able to choose where you get your notifications. For example, you might just want low-priority notifications to go to your email, while emergency notifications get blasted across email, phone, and the app.

Our Recommendation: Spytec Micro GPS Tracker

If you’re looking for a children’s tracking device that checks all the boxes, we recommend the Spytec Micro GPS Tracker. This compact tracking device for kids is portable enough to fit in a pocket but powerful enough to give you accurate, real-time location updates. 

This is why parents love it:

• Portable design: At 0.5" x 1.25" x 2.5" and only weight 0.22g, this tracker is lightweight, discreet, and easy for kids to carry

• Reliable geo tracking: Spytec GPS trackers use 4G satellite technology for dependable location updates, with coverage all over the United States and beyond
  

• Emergency readiness: Emergency button paired with real-time alerts can notify you immediately if something is wrong.

• Family locator app included: The Spytec app offers geofencing, tracker history, and customizable notifications–everything you need in one place.

The Spytec Micro GPS tracker isn’t just another children’s tracking device. It’s a complete safety solution. With it, you’ll always know where your child is, and your child will know that you’re just a single notification away if they need you. This, by the way, can be applied to keeping elder parents safe as well.

Choosing the right GPS tracker for kids comes down to balancing portability, reliability, and smart software. The right GPS locator can empower your child with independence while giving you reassurance. With a device like the Spytec Micro, you’ll gain a reliable partner in keeping your family safe.