There may be nothing extra terrifying than the considered shedding observe of a kid, and it may be much more tough when your youngster is just too younger for a smartphone. Fortunately, expert-tested and parent-reviewed GPS trackers can guarantee you understand the place your youngster is always, regardless of how continuously they wander away.
Additionally: The perfect parental management apps to maintain your youngsters secure
“As a mom, making certain the security and well-being of my youngster is of utmost significance,” Dr. Kaitlyn Siu, a toddler neurologist and founder and CEO of Educate Your Youngsters Code, instructed ZDNET. “Nevertheless, I’d stability the necessity for security with respecting [my child’s] privateness and autonomy, utilizing the tracker as a software for peace of thoughts quite than for fixed surveillance.”
What’s the greatest GPS tracker for youths proper now?
ZDNET spoke to oldsters and professionals like Dr. Siu to find out the perfect GPS trackers and units to remain conscious of your kid’s location. Our choose for the perfect GPS tracker for youths general is the Apple AirTag because it’s moderately priced and makes use of Apple’s complete Discover My community for correct monitoring. Learn on for different prime GPS trackers for youths, together with units from Apple, Garmin, and extra.
The perfect GPS trackers and units for youths in 2025
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Apple’s AirTags are concerning the dimension of 1 / 4, and there are numerous equipment you should use to connect the small tracker to a jacket or backpack (and even slip it into your kid’s pocket). There is not any month-to-month price, and the CR2032 battery lasts round a yr and is definitely replaceable.
So far as efficiency goes, the AirTag does a stable job. The one caveat is that an AirTag requires one other Apple machine to be close by and linked to the web to share its location with Apple’s Discover My community. For instance, in case your youngster would not have an Apple machine with mobile capabilities, monitoring a younger youngster on the college bus requires somebody — more than likely one other scholar or the bus driver — to have an iPhone or mobile Apple Watch. If there are not any Apple units on the bus, the situation cannot replace.
Overview: Apple AirTag
ZDNET contributor Jason Cipriani examined out inserting AirTags on his youngsters’s backpacks and located that he may nonetheless observe them throughout a faculty day. “One backpack was situated about half-hour prior, and the opposite had simply had its location reported 2 minutes earlier than I might checked,” he wrote. “Presumably, a instructor walked by their backpack with an iPhone of their pocket, or one of many college students’ iPads picked up the tag’s Bluetooth sign and reported it again Apple, which in flip lets me view the situation in considerably real-time.”
96% of consumers who bought an AirTag at Finest Purchase stated they might advocate it to a buddy, and the machine’s general evaluate score is 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Apple AirTag specs: Value: $29 or 4 for $85 | Battery life: One yr | Actual-time monitoring: No | Month-to-month price: None | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Apple’s Discover My Community
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Garmin’s newest youngsters’ smartwatch, the Bounce, affords real-time location monitoring, communication options, well being and sleep monitoring, video games, and extra. Relating to GPS, mother and father can use Bounce’s location monitoring to view their kid’s present whereabouts within the Garmin app and be notified when their youngster leaves pre-approved areas.
Additionally: The perfect Garmin watches
LTE connectivity (which you should buy from Garmin for $10/month) permits your youngster to textual content and voice message as much as 20 parent-approved contacts.
You too can view varied well being metrics like sleep, steps, and energetic minutes to regulate your rising youngster. Garmin additionally consists of activity-related video games inside the watch so youngsters can unlock rewards for assembly targets or obligations, like finishing a chore.
Mother and father on Reddit who’ve purchased the watch for his or her youngsters say it is nice with notifications and placement updates, particularly for school-bound youngsters.
Garmin Bounce specs: Value: $150 | Battery life: Two days | Actual-time monitoring: Sure | Month-to-month price: $10/month | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, LTE
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For youths who’re too younger for a smartphone however mature sufficient to take care of a gadget, we advocate merchandise like T-Cell’s SyncUp Youngsters Watch 2 and the Verizon GizmoWatch (extra on that beneath). The SyncUp wrist-worn gadget prices $174, however if you happen to add a line to your T-Cell account, you will get the watch totally free.
Normally, the SyncUp watch has comparable performance to that of an everyday smartwatch. It features a digital camera, and your youngster can use the machine to ship and obtain messages. With the duty supervisor, a father or mother can add chores or different duties for his or her youngster to give attention to after faculty, together with real-time location monitoring.
Additionally: The perfect smartwatches for youths
The interface is playful and simple for a kid to make use of and features a “College Mode” that disables additional options throughout class time to restrict distraction.
One T-Cell reviewer who gave the machine 5 stars stated, “The one individuals allowed to contact the watch are set by you, the father or mother. It is a great way to entry your youngsters when they’re away, however it additionally lets them really feel like they’re rising up some.”
SyncUp Youngsters Watch 2 specs: Value: $174 | Battery life: 8 hours of discuss time | Actual-time monitoring: Sure | Month-to-month price: No | Connectivity: 4G LTE
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The Verizon Gizmo Watch 3 has lots of the identical options as T-Cell’s SyncUp Youngsters watch. You may ship and obtain messages and calls, and it has a built-in digital camera. You may add as much as 10 trusted contacts to your youngster to speak with whereas carrying the watch.
You will additionally get real-time monitoring and geofence help to obtain alerts when your youngster leaves or arrives at a selected location. Equally to the SyncUp Youngsters watch, you possibly can create duties to your youngster and arrange faculty mode to forestall them from utilizing the watch at college or throughout different actions.
Additionally: The perfect youngsters’ telephones for conserving you in contact
“We purchased the Verizon GizmoWatch about two years in the past for our kiddos, then aged 6 and eight,” stated Kendra Paulson, who’s a contract author. “We dwell on a army base, and whereas it’s fairly secure right here, we wished to have a option to talk with our ladies whereas they had been out driving bikes and enjoying within the neighborhood. I can look on the Gizmo map and see the place my youngsters are, and we will textual content and name backwards and forwards, so it is like having a starter cellphone that straps to their wrist.”
Each GizmoWatch fashions have a one-time $35 activation price from Verizon. One other draw back is that Verizon prospects say the battery life is shorter than marketed.
Verizon Gizmo Watch 3 tech specs: Value: $150, plus a $35 activation price | Battery life: As much as 3.5 days (standby) or 1.5 days fixed use | Actual-time monitoring: Sure | Month-to-month price: No | Connectivity: GPS, Mobile (4G)
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The Xplora XGO3 watch makes use of GPS, energetic Wi-Fi, and GSM triangulation to supply real-time location monitoring. It additionally affords geofencing, so you possibly can arrange security zones round key places like dwelling and college. In case your youngster wanders out of those pre-marked areas, you’ll be notified.
The watch would not have any video games, however video games can be found through the GoPlay app. For each 1,000 steps that your youngster takes, they’ll earn one Xcoin, which could be saved up and redeemed for actual prizes within the GoPlay retailer (although to make use of this expertise, you may must entry a smartphone or pill). Verified prospects say it is an clever option to gamify well being and health for little ones.
Overview: Xplora XGO3
ZDNET author Maria Diaz examined the watch on her daughter and stated it gave her peace of thoughts. “From my testing, the GPS monitoring within the XGO3 is dependable, particularly as a result of I can arrange particular security zones inside the Xplora app, like for dwelling and college, and be notified when my youngster leaves these areas,” she wrote in her evaluate. “The app additionally exhibits historic monitoring knowledge, which is helpful when you could recall previous actions.”
You will additionally want a SIM card to make use of the watch’s mobile capabilities. The SIM card is included with the watch and works with most cellular carriers besides Verizon. Take into account that the watch requires a minimal one-year $9.99 subscription.
Xplora XGO3 specs: Value: $100 | Battery life: 72 hours (on standby) | Actual-time monitoring: Sure | Month-to-month price: $9.99/month | Connectivity: Mobile (SIM card), Wi-Fi, GPS
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Our suggestion for the perfect GPS tracker for youths is Apple AirTag. Nevertheless, any of the choices on this checklist would make good GPS trackers and units for youths. It simply relies on what you need, and which options are a precedence to you.
|
GPS tracker machine |
Value |
Battery |
Actual-time monitoring? |
|
Apple AirTag |
$29 |
One yr |
No |
|
Garmin Bounce |
$150 |
Two days |
Sure |
|
SyncUp Youngsters Watch 2 |
$174 |
One week |
Sure |
|
Verizon GizmoWatch |
$170 |
As much as three days (standby) or 1.5 days of fixed use |
Sure |
|
Xplora XGO3 |
$100 |
72 hours (on standby) |
Sure |
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|
Select this GPS tracker… |
If you need… |
|
Apple AirTag |
The perfect general tracker for most individuals. There is not any month-to-month price, and the battery lasts round a yr. |
|
Garmin Bounce |
A smartwatch loaded with options and real-time monitoring. Mother and father can use location monitoring on the Bounce to view their kid’s present whereabouts within the Garmin app, |
|
SyncUp Youngsters Watch 2 |
A wearable watch for youths beneath T-Cell. The wrist-worn gadget prices $174, however you will get it totally free if you happen to add a line to your account. |
|
Verizon GizmoWatch |
A wearable watch for youths beneath Verizon. You may create duties to your youngster and arrange faculty mode to maintain them from utilizing the watch at college. |
|
Xplora XGO 3 |
A GPS watch that encourages youngsters to play exterior. With geofencing, you possibly can arrange security zones round essential places, like dwelling and college. |
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For those who’re shopping for a GPS tracker to your youngsters, you must contemplate the next:
- Privateness: Preserving your kid’s data and knowledge is of the utmost significance with any tech machine, so we checked out trackers and units with privateness options like encryption, parental controls, and two-way communication so you possibly can contact your youngster.
- Actual-time monitoring: We included trackers and units which have real-time GPS monitoring, which makes use of satellite tv for pc alerts to find out the exact location of the machine, so you understand precisely the place your youngster is at any given second.
- Battery life: A monitoring machine serves little objective if it is out of battery, so we checked out units with lengthy battery lives so you do not have to recharge consistently.
- Value: These monitoring units can vary dramatically in value, however we tried to maintain all merchandise beneath at the very least $200.
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After we take a look at smartwatches, we sometimes comply with the identical routine for each to see which performs greatest when examined in the actual world.
- Every day put on: We put on the smartwatch as our main watch, with communications, functions, and different parts being examined as if it had been our solely smartwatch.
- Software choice and efficiency: One side that makes smartwatches totally different than normal watches is the help for functions. We load up the watch with apps after which take a look at the efficiency and performance of these functions. For instance, Apple notably excels within the space of third-party utility help.
- Exercises: Smartwatch makers have embraced well being and health so we take smartwatches out for operating with GPS, rowing on the Hydrow, biking on trails, and strolling with the household. GPS and coronary heart charge knowledge is tracked after which we consider the accuracy in opposition to confirmed GPS sports activities watches.
- Sleep and exercise monitoring: Sleep monitoring has improved with smartwatches over time and we consider and examine them to sensible rings and different watches. Nighttime can also be a great time to cost your smartwatch, so you could select to not use your watch to trace sleep so your watch can serve faithfully all day and into the evening.
For a deeper look into our testing course of, try our complete smartwatch testing methodology.
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GPS trackers work like this: The machine makes use of a satellite tv for pc community to find out its location. A GPS tracker converts these satellite tv for pc alerts into knowledge corresponding to velocity, time, and place so that you could see precisely the place the machine (and, in flip, your youngster) is.
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No, Fitbit makes GPS-enabled exercise trackers for youths, however not location trackers with real-time location monitoring.
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Privateness issues and ethics are the primary issues about GPS monitoring units generally, particularly in the case of monitoring youngsters. ZDNET requested mother and father how they felt.
“As my daughters get older and finally head off into the world on their very own, it is going to cross my thoughts eager to know the place they’re at and whether or not they’re secure,” stated father or mother and Ling App co-founder Kanyarat Nuchangpuek.
“Alternatively, it bothers me that I may very well be crossing a line peeking into their non-public lives. It is just like discovering out that your mom learn your diary. It is an invasion of privateness and may additionally deter my youngsters from experiencing life in their very own means. Having to marvel, “Is mommy watching?” should not be a pure thought.”
No matter your selection, it is a good suggestion to guard your knowledge, particularly when it includes your kid’s location.
Additionally: Find out how to discover out if an AirTag is monitoring you
For instance, when signing up for an account, use a singular and sophisticated password — ideally saved in a password supervisor — so as to add a layer of safety to your account.
For those who’re not sure a couple of services or products, all the time you’ll want to learn by way of the corporate’s privateness coverage.
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Sadly, many GPS trackers and units for youths require a further subscription fee. That is very true if the machine requires an app with superior options or a wearable that gives LTE connectivity.
Remember to issue this additional price into your last resolution.
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Different GPS trackers to contemplate
ZDNET sourced exterior trade consultants for this text. Right here is extra details about them:
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