tracking devices

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Hello everyone-

It has been awhile since I have been on. I am still in shock about what happened today---my 8 yr old son with Asperger's took off on his own from the house today. I had gone to the grocery store, and my husband had gone into the back yard for a few minutes to take the trash can back. He came back in the house to discover that my son was gone. He has never wandered off from us before! Anyway, my husband of course freaked out and got in his car and drove around the corner to the elementary school that my son attends which happens to be in our neighborhood. He ran to the school yard and found him there---Thank God!! !

My son was pretty upset about it, and he said that he thought that his dad had left him and that he was going to look for him. I shudder to think of everything that could have happened to him. I am very thankful that he was not harmed. We talked to him about it and the seriousness of it, and he promised he wouldn't do it again.

My concern is that the older he gets, he is starting to be a little more bold, and I have no idea what he might try. I am hyper vigilant about watching him, but mistakes happen.

Have any of you used any tracking devices, and if so do you have any recommendations?

Thanks so much!

In considering remote GPS tracking you're playing into a trap; in my professional opinion it isn't good parenting at all to get your children accustomed to routine surveilance. With sensors come vulnerabilities, there's no way to ensure you're the only one with access to this information. You need to innofensively speak your mind to your son, dependence on technology doesn't help anyone.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

Thanks for your reply. I do agree with you to some extent, I was just curious if other parents had used anything like this. I had a good talk with my son, but I am still not sure he understands the seriousness of what happened. Also, he LOVES cars. That is his special interest. I asked him what he would do if a stranger said" do you want to get into my car", and he said he would get into the car. That terrifies me. I will continue to talk to him about this, but meanwhile, I was hoping other parents would chime in with their experience or advice.

I can relate to this, but don't have much help. I remember the terror. My son could not understand or accept that I needed to know where he was. He could not (and still doesn't much) understand my perspective. We were able to be vigilant around the house, but at museums or playgrounds or any other outing I could not get distracted or he would be gone. My husband or I had to focus on him. It was really hard to do and often I would stay home from field trips with our homeschool group because of him. I sure looked like an over-protective or helicopter mom.

At about age 8 or 9, I invited his friend to a festival. That was really nice because they stuck with each other really well, and the friend had total awareness of having to be within my sight. The contrast was remarkable. I really enjoyed that festival!

I never really came up with a plan except vigilance, staying home, and waiting for maturity. I hope you fare better.