If you can microchip your kid, would you?

[ForteKitty]

If someone invented a chip that will track your child for 18 years, and automatically terminate on day 1 of the 18th year, would you chip your child?

Before you rush into an answer, think about this:

1) if your child is ever kidnapped, you can track him/her down w/ the gps.
2) you know where they are at all times.
3) is this considered an invasion of privacy? would you want to be tracked?
4) who else might be tracking my child?

I've always believed that this will do more good than harm. With so many kidnappings all the time, I would want to know immediately where my child is, instead of waiting for the police to track down my child's body. However, many people disagree, and think i'm crazy.

 

[Maisie]

I wouldn't. I think the idea of 'Big Brother' watching us is bad enough without helping them by being chipped.

 

[ForteKitty]

i understand that, but unless you use all cash dont go anywhere, it's really very easy to track where people are at any given time.

Would it make any difference if this chip can be removed at 18?

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I think an identification microchip (a la dogs/cats) is a better idea. Put scanners in at the door ways to say gas stations, supermarkets etc so if a child does go missing the chip would be scanned if they cross through the scanners and location would be greatly narrowed down.

How would your chip be powered?

 

[Maisie]

I don't think it would make a difference. I honestly feel that we will all end up chipped at some point anyway. And that worries me.

 

[ForteKitty]

I think an identification microchip (a la dogs/cats) is a better idea. Put scanners in at the door ways to say gas stations, supermarkets etc so if a child does go missing the chip would be scanned if they cross through the scanners and location would be greatly narrowed down.

How would your chip be powered?

I suppose i've been watching too many criminal minds, but i assumed the worse and figured whomever is willing to kidnap a child, is willing to kill the child or keep them locked up like Jaycee Dugard. That's why i'd rather it be a gps instead of scanned.

I have NO idea how it would be powered. Just an overactive mind working on a gloomy day.

 

[LadyBlue]

I don't think is a good idea. I understand that would be very useful in case of kidnap, but at the same time It would be very risky.

Nowadays, everything can be hack, and having a chip in your child means that any expert can hack that information and know exactly where he/she is.

Anyone who has the power could have any access to someone that has a chip, and I find that possibility more risky against the possibility of being kidnap.

 

[ForteKitty]

gaby, very good points. i didn't think about that.

 

[zoebartlett]

I don't think is a good idea. I understand that would be very useful in case of kidnap, but at the same time It would be very risky.

Nowadays, everything can be hack, and having a chip in your child means that any expert can hack that information and know exactly where he/she is.

Anyone who has the power could have any access to someone that has a chip, and I find that possibility more risky against the possibility of being kidnap.

These thoughts crossed my mind too. It all sounds very sc-fi and I don't like it. Having said that though, I did our two cats microchipped before a big move. They're not children though -- that just sounds like kind of a strange thing to do to a kid.

 

[honey22]

I wouldn't want to take the risk of someone harming my child trying to take out the microchip to avoid getting caught. That's the first thing that jumped into my mind - there are sickos out there. That said, I don't have kids yet, so I guess I don't know what I would do until I was given that choice.

 

[tsavvy]

It isn't a microchip, but... We don't have this on my 13-year old's phone and would only consider it if we had significant issues where we were concerned about the choices he was making.

 

[Nashville]

No. Because some sicko would find a way to infiltrate the chip's tracking device and it could be used to stalk children, rather than protect them.

 

[Imdanny]

Absolutely not.

 

[starryeyed]

I wouldn't want to take the risk of someone harming my child trying to take out the microchip to avoid getting caught. That's the first thing that jumped into my mind - there are sickos out there. That said, I don't have kids yet, so I guess I don't know what I would do until I was given that choice.

Yes, are we talking about an implant?? This is a disturbing idea - someone cuts your child's chip out with God-knows what!

I could see a chip in a sneaker or in a hair accessory or something, IF the child has a history of hiding or wandering off, but I can't see an implant, like for a DOG!

ETA: My MIL actually SUGGESTED a chip implant in my daughter, like she did for her dog. Said my SIL wanted to do it for her son, since she is SO WEALTHY and her son could be a kidnapping target. Gag me.

 

[ForteKitty]

What if it is an undetectable chip? meaning the perp can't scan it to find out where the chip is on the child, and everyone has their chip in a different place?

Do you think that having a chip would deter sickos from kidnapping a child in the first place?

Of course this is all hypothetical. Like I said, I've been watching too many criminal minds reruns, and it just makes me sick. I was only thinking from a kidnapping point of view and not so much a big brother monitoring pov.
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On the flip side, if it were available, would you chip yourself? I might instruct my caretaker to chip me if I develop alzheimers and might possibly wander off.

 

[Fly Girl]

On the flip side, if it were available, would you chip yourself? I might instruct my caretaker to chip me if I develop alzheimers and might possibly wander off.

Actually, they do use tracking bracelets for Alzheimer's patients. So, a smaller device that has the same effect would make sense in this situation.

I would not, however, chip my children.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

No, I wouldn't chip my kids.

I'm a huge fan of dystopian literature and in every story, when something comes along for the greater good (like microchipping a child), the idea backfires and everything gets all screwed up. Before we know it, it's 1984 and we're watching our kids and so is big brother.

 

[Indylady]

I'd carry one of those track-able phones. Actually, aren't most phones track-able, not from your own home like the one posted but by authorities? something called "pings"?

Would I chip myself? I don't know..

 

[mrscushion]

No.

 

[NovemberBride]

Yes, if it were available I would microchip my daughter, no question. There are just too many crazy people in this world and too many horrible stories of children taken that keep me awake at night. They rarely find the children in time and having the gps chip would greatly help. However, I would not use it to invade my child's privacy, i.e. track their every movement to check up on them, I would only want it for a true emergency situation. The possibility of saving my child's life, even in the one in 10 million chance she is taken, far outweighs to me any wacky theories about big brother watching us. Post 9/11, I am pretty sure the government is tracking anyone they want to, and I am pretty sure I am not of any interest to them.

 

[MonkeyPie]

The possibility of saving my child's life, even in the one in 10 million chance she is taken, far outweighs to me any wacky theories about big brother watching us. Post 9/11, I am pretty sure the government is tracking anyone they want to, and I am pretty sure I am not of any interest to them.

This.
Worrying about the government watching you is just sort of ridiculous. The average Joe does NOT get tracked, and thinking that you may be is just a recipe for problems.

 

[Amethyste]

NO NO NO NO NO NO WAY!!!

People are not pets. I think it is wrong. Especially when the child cannot quite make a decision on its own yet.

This subject goes into the same basket as circumcision, ear piercing etc... We had these discussions/threads going on before and I don't think they ended up turning well in the end.

 

[packrat]

I'd probably do it. Depending on if a perv could get in to the info to find them himself and snag them and take the chip out..tho it seems like a lot of work and a lot of messing around for the random perv guy in the candy van to undertake.

I doubt the govt gives a rats behind what I and my kids do in a day. They'd get sick of watching us "Meh, just another day in the X house-kids are fighting again, mom's ticked off and yelling, oh wait, now she's screwing around on PS when she's supposed to be cleaning..jeez they're so boring"

 

[ForteKitty]

I dont think circumcisions are in the same category as ear piercings or microchipping. Circumcisions are irreversible. Well, some would argue that as well since there are lots of site that offer advice on "growing back" foreskin.

 

[somethingshiny]

Ditto Honey. The first thought that went thru my mind was "if they're evil enough to kidnap a child, they're evil enough to remove a chip."

But, no, I wouldn't chip my child. There's just something about it that seems morally and ethically wrong to me. I understand the potential benefits of such actions but it still seems too wrong.

Now, if there could be a little chip inside kids' shoes or something, then I'd consider it.

 

[ForteKitty]

i wish kids were born w/ a tracking device/link to the parents.

 

[HollyS]

No.

How rare is a kidnapping? Really?

No.

It's easy to justify almost anything. But, still, no.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

NO NO NO NO NO NO WAY!!!

People are not pets. I think it is wrong. Especially when the child cannot quite make a decision on its own yet.

This subject goes into the same basket as circumcision, ear piercing etc... We had these discussions/threads going on before and I don't think they ended up turning well in the end.

huh? There is no comparision between microchipping a kid and having his whereabouts monitored vs. choosing whether or not to circumsize him!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I dont think circumcisions are in the same category as ear piercings or microchipping. Circumcisions are irreversible. Well, some would argue that as well since there are lots of site that offer advice on "growing back" foreskin.

It's not that. It's that circumcision is a private thing, not something that gets monitored by satelite. Ear piercing is an asthetic choice and nothing more than that. It's not about the cutting or piercing of a child, it's about the fact that their movements will be tracked and fall into the category of big brother watching over citizens. Lack of privacy.

 

[Sparkalin]

No, never. Not my kids or me. It's a creepy thought. Big brothers bigger brother.

Linda