With so much press being given to the internet and kids not being safe online, we mothers may have missed the boat. Technology isn’t really the safety issue we think it is! It’s all about how we use it and the kinds of technology we choose to employ in order to keep our kids safe, healthy and happy. Instead of fearing technology because of all the bad press it’s gotten recently, why not learn about all the ways in which you can use it to your advantage! Here are just a few of the ways to consider.
Wearables
There are a number of kids who have medical issues that require constant observation, but in an attempt to give our kids a ‘normal’ life, we send them off to school with all the other children. Their conditions may not be life-threatening but some things may be if our children aren’t monitored closely. How can you do that if the kids are at school and you are at home or work? You can’t expect their teacher with thirty-some odd kids in the room to play nurse.
Enter wearables. Kids can now use a wearable medical device that will set off an alarm if a child’s sugar level, for example, goes above or below what is safe. The wearable not only triggers an audible alarm, alerting the teacher to check the reading but will also communicate with that child’s pediatrician the readings that prompted the alarm. It only takes a cell phone to communicate with his or her provider.
Home Security
Speaking of cell phone connectivity, what about home security systems that don’t rely on electricity or telephone lines? We have just faced a year of freak weather conditions around the country with winter tornadic activity in the Deep South, floods in the Pacific Northwest and a number of other weather anomalies that took down power lines, leaving home security systems futile.
A product like SimpliSafe is powered via electricity but has a backup battery life of several hours that keeps it operational typically until crews are dispatched to repair the lines. Even two-parent homes with dad in the house face dangers when power is off. This is prime time for looters because they know that security systems are down when electricity is off, which is why reviews have been fairly favourable. SimpliSafe allows you to use cell phone technology to send a message to your local police or first responders if the home is threatened, even when the power is off.
Amber Alerts
Without having actual statistics from 2016, the newest being released for the calendar year 2015, it is safe to say that national Amber Alerts were instrumental in returning a large percentage of missing children to their parents. How many times have you been driving home from work on the Interstate to look up to those overhead digital signs that flash “Amber Alert” again and again, followed by the information needed to inform the general public what and who to look for.
You also hear your cell phone buzzing away and when you have a safe place to look, you see an SMS Amber Alert has reached your phone. Thanks to cell phone wireless technology, many children are found and their abductors imprisoned for their crimes.
Moms, don’t fear all technology just because there are predators on the Internet. The very same technology that gave you cell phones can keep your kids safe and the very same technology that creates some amount of fear on the Internet can be turned around to protect your child. It’s really all in how you use it. Keep your kids near you for ultimate safety but even then, let technology be your own personal body guard! Your kids deserve the right to a safe, happy and healthy childhood and technology can help you give them what they need.
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