Abduction fears prompt surge in child-tracker gadgets

and

IT IS a parent’s worst nightmare – that feeling of panic when a child vanishes from sight. But increasing numbers are now spending hundreds of pounds on the latest gadgetry to spy on their child’s every move.

Sales of GPS satellite tracking watches or tags and their accompanying smartphone apps have soared in the run-up to the holidays.

The devices, designed for children too young to own a mobile phone, allow parents to eavesdrop through the watch’s microphone, plot their child’s whereabouts on a map or even speak to them.

Some watches can also digitally “tether” them by sending an alert if they stray beyond a certain distance.

They all have an SOS button that triggers an alarm on their parents’ phones.

There is now a technological race among developers to add more features as the industry cashes in on “stranger danger”.

Future gadgets will let parents check their child’s heart rate to see if they are under stress, monitor their temperature and see how many calories they

‘In the last year sales have doubled. We experience a surge before summer holidays’

have burnt that day. Mark Carse, managing director of Trackershop, said: “In the last year sales of these watches have doubled. We experience a surge before summer holidays, when kids go on school trips and when they go skiing.”

Children’s charities, however, fear the gadgets could become a substitute for traditional parenting.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “They may offer peace of mind but they shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to having regular and open conversations with your child about how to keep safe.”