How to Negotiate With the Kid About Tracking Their Location?
Findmykids together with a child psychologist will tell you how to convince a kid to install a program for tracking their location on their personal phone.
Contents:
Before you start talking with your kid about installing the app Findmykids on their phone, first sincerely answer one question: what problem will this application solve for you personally?
Probably, you want to know that your kid is safe or this app will help to protect the kid from possible threats. You can come to the rescue, if your kid needs it, so you can always be near. Be honest with the kid, your anxiety is a sign of your love and the kid will feel it.
Age: 3-7 years
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Your kid is still a preschooler and their development takes place in the game format. Most psychologists think that interaction with mobile devices during the day should be limited and carried out under the supervision of an adult.
At this age, the kid creates a “culture of communication” with the phone or tablet. Therefore, you can independently install the Findmykids app on the device and offer the kid an introduction to the gadget. It will be quite natural for the kid and it will not cause resistance later.
Age: 7-11 years
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Your kid is a primary school pupil. The tablet and computer are important components of studying, and the phone is a necessary thing to stay always connected, first of all, with you.
Going to school is the first adult step for your child. This event is the best time to purchase their own mobile device or GPS watch.
You can independently install the applications that you find useful and informative, including the Findmykids app. Tell your kid what applications you installed on their phone and for what.
You can use the following phrases:
This application will help us to be always connected.
I will be sure that everything is fine with you if I know where you are.
I will be able to help you if you need it.
You will always be protected, even when we (parents) are at work.
Emphasize the benefits that the kid will receive. Tell more about security, not about possible threats.
The kid listens carefully to the parents at this age, so reaching the understanding at this moment will not be difficult for you. Show the kid where to press in case of a dangerous situation.
Age: 12-14 years
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At this age, the kid is a “small adult”. The need for making independent decisions becomes especially significant. It is important for a teenager that their opinion will be listened to and given freedom of choice. That’s why the installation of the app Findmykids can be approached in the format of the request.
First, tell your kid that you appreciate their independence and hobbies. Ask what new interests they have and try to support them. Then tell about your request to install the application and explain why it is so important for you (here the answer to the question that you asked yourself at the very beginning comes into play).
You can use the next phrases:
You have already achieved a lot (you have a lot of work/many things have changed in your life). We appreciate your achievements. You have become completely independent. Do you have new friends and interests, what are you keen on now? I trust you in what you are interested in. I am sure that you can independently make many important and well-considered decisions now. I have one request and I really want to agree on this issue with you. You grow up and have more and more new things to do, meetings with friends, for example, and I worry when you’re not at home. So I want to ask you to install an application that will help me to know that you are safe. So I will be calmer and you will be not disturbed by my calls and messages.
Tell honestly about the opportunities that the app has, for example, that you will see where your kid is at the moment:
Let’s together limit some boundaries of the territory where you usually spend the most part of the day. Let it be a “zone of trust”. If you are there, then I know that you are all right. I will receive a notification on the phone in case you go beyond. So, please, just inform me that you have occasions in another place, then I will not worry.