Children's Watch Allows Parents To Track Their Kid 607
pickens writes "The Telegraph reports that a new wristwatch called num8 has a GPS tracking device and satellite positioning system concealed inside so parents can locate the wearer to within 10 feet with Google maps. The watch sends an alert if it is forcibly removed. The makers of the watch claim it gives peace of mind to parents and makes children more independent. 'Losing your child, if only for a brief moment, leads to a state of panic and makes parents feel powerless. The overriding aim of num8 is to give children their freedom and parents peace of mind,' says a company spokesman. Critics of the watch say tagging children is a step too far in paranoia about child safety. 'Is the world really that unsafe that parents need to track their children electronically? I don't think so,' says Dr Michele Elliott, director of children's charity Kidscape."
Re:Good for pre-teens, but not older (Score:5, Informative)
That, plus if you look at the picture then there's no way in hell that any teenager would be seen dead with that thing on their wrist :D
Re:Kid won't know what to do when an adult (Score:3, Informative)
You carry yourself differently when you can easily rip off someone's ears and shove them in their nose
I don't know that I'd have that much confidence in karate. It's a great activity for the kids (builds self-confidence and discipline) and even adults (for the cardio workout if nothing else) but as a self-defense discipline many have found it lacking. Personally I felt like I came away with more from a single class of unarmed self-defense taught by ex-cops than I did from a year and a half of karate. Whatever confidence I did have in karate evaporated when our 6th DAN instructor got mugged by two teenage thugs armed with knives.
Re:He'll be alive and well but you... (Score:4, Informative)
Try reading the website next time: [lok8u.com]
Emergency use (1 alert/month) - £5 ($8).
Standard use (60 alerts/month) - £10 ($16)
Advanced use (90 alerts/month) - £13 ($21)
Unlimited use (unlimited alerts/month) - £20 ($32)
$32 is less than what a family spends at a restaurant. Go out to eat one less time per month, have plenty of money for the top-level subscription. And yeah, it's very much worth it if you can give your autistic kid a little more freedom and yourself a back-up system to keeping an eye on them.
Re:Kid won't know what to do when an adult (Score:3, Informative)
If you mean the reference to Pascal's wager as an endorsement, please see the wikipedia entry under section Criticisms.
(In short, Pascal inadvertently rendered religion to its proper ridiculous essence.)
Re:Kid won't know what to do when an adult (Score:1, Informative)
Uhm, Karate is a bludgeoning martial art. You punch, hit with your wrists, forearms, elbows, kick, hit with the knee. You don't "let them do the work". You defend yourself with active blocking and a strong physique (to absorb blows that make it through) and pummel them until they give up. It is a lot like boxing.