Some free apps help moms and dads ensure their kids are safe while trick-or-treating
Posted October 30, 2015 7:44 am.
Last Updated October 30, 2015 7:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There are ways to keep an eye on your kids, even if you don’t plan on going on trick or treating with them. There are dozens of free, easy to use apps on the market for parents.
There are three that top the list for tech expert Mike Yawney with Breakfast Television. He explains one you may want to consider using is the Red Panic Button app, which will alert you if something goes wrong with your kid when they’re out collecting their loot.
“How it works is the parents program a phone number into the child’s phone with an email address. And if something happens, all your child has to do is pull out the smartphone and tap the screen. There is a big red button on the screen and immediately, an alert gets sent out letting you know your child’s coordinates and letting you know there is trouble.”
The app is also tied in to social media and the alert will also go out on Twitter and Facebook.
Trick-or-Tracker lets you know in real-time where your kids are and if they’re lost.
“It lets you know in real-time where your child is, so their location actually shows up on Google Maps. And on the other side of it, kids can actually use this to see where they are as well, so they don’t get lost. You can sit down with your child with the map to tell them which area to stick to and that way you feel better because you know where they’re going to be and the kids feel better because they’re not going to get lost,” says Yawney.
The app LIFE 360 allows you to set up your child’s trick or treat route.
“You can set up a geo-fence; what that means is you can actually open up the app, open up Google Maps and you can trace out where your child is allowed to go or what neighbourhood they’re allowed to stick to. If they stray off course, it automatically alerts you to let you know your child is going in the wrong direction,” says Yawney.
Remember, it’s not okay to send your five-year-old out with your smartphone thinking they’re safe — Yawney says any kid using these apps should be older.
