Secret Agent Mom

From little black boxes to GPS tracking systems, parents these days are outfitted with all sorts of secret agent gadgets. Here's the scoop on today's hottest parenting technology.

By Heather Hatfield
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Ann Edmundson, MD, PhD

Donna Butler's 18 year-old daughter hit the road with a friend for a trip that would take about two hours each way. With her daughter's friend behind the wheel, Donna wasn't exactly comfortable. But she had a secret weapon: global positioning system, or GPS, enabled in her daughter Danielle's cell phone.

"I told her to call me when she got there, and after three hours, I hadn't heard from her, so I was concerned," says Butler. "So I tried calling her first, and when she didn't answer, I pulled her up on the computer. She was where she was supposed to be, but the car at that point was clocked at 90 mph."

That's right: Through the GPS monitoring system, Donna could tell exactly where Danielle was, what direction she was going in, and exactly how fast.

"The first thing I did was send her a text message that I was not happy with how fast they were going, and if that car exceeded 70 mph again, I would come up there and get her," says Butler.

GPS monitoring is just one of many secret agent gadgets available to parents these days that lend a hand in both ensuring their kids' safety and enforcing the rules. Experts give WebMD a look at today's hottest spyware technology that gives parents that technological edge.

On the Market

Today's technology allows a parent to keep an eye on their kids almost every second of every day. With GPS-enabled cell phones and little black boxes, parents are well-equipped to monitor every move their children make.

GPS. "The Wherifone is the world's smallest cell phone for kids," says John Cunningham, director of communications for Wherify Wireless. "The value add is not just being able to call your child but also having access to their real-time location. It gives parents a real sense of safety."

With an embedded GPS system in the phone, parents can access their child's location, for safety or rule-breaking reasons, via a secure Internet site with a secret password. The web site features a map that pinpoints exactly where their child is, and better yet, it can "breadcrumb."

"The parent can also do breadcrumbing, which is a series of location requests," says Cunningham. "So on the map, they can see dots where the child has been, and the direction he's going in."

With Wherify, an added feature is that kids can't rack up huge cell phone bills.

"The phone is set up with designated dial," says Cunningham. "There are only five buttons on the front, and the parent can program those buttons so they only dial specific numbers."

Set to hit your local Wal-Mart later this summer, the Wherifone will retail for about $150, with a $20 monthly basic service fee.