GPS Tracking Watches For Kids, Teens, and Adults

We have said it before and we will say it again - a GPS tracking watch is a great tool that can be used in a variety of different situations. In fact, we have outlined several unconventional ways that you can use these devices to enhance life and to do interesting things. But the question remains, “What is the right GPS tracking watch for me?” This is a question that will take some thoughtful consideration.

The first thing that you will want to consider is what will be the main reason you use your watch. If you are planning on purchasing a fitness watch mainly for the benefits that it offers then you are probably going to want to purchase a Garmin of one variety or another. Both Suunto and Timex offer fitness watches that have all the things that a Garmin watch will have - a heart rate monitor and all the metrics you’d expect with a GPS enabled watch - but their GPS is not integrated into the actual watch itself. Instead, you have to carry a pod with you on your run, bike, kayak, hike, swim, or walk. These things can be cumbersome and have a tendency to pull down your running shorts at the most inopportune times.

If you are looking for a kids GPS watch that can fit into your desire to keep your child secure there are a few different options available. However, the vast majority of these are still in the development stage. Another set back is that they normally have a significant up front fee in addition to a monthly service fee. The rates for these are comparable to a monthly cell phone charge. We are a little torn over who provides the best service and what the best route to go here is, but we definitely suggest that you contact the company you are looking to buy the watch from before making your purchase and ask them the questions that concern you the most.

Another avenue where GPS tracking is important is in keeping tabs on individuals with severe handicaps or dementia. Those suffering from Alzheimer’s can be particularly difficult to locate if they have wandered away from their home as they can quickly become disoriented and they have a significant problem communicating memory to people trying to help them. You want to maintain the dignity of those suffering from a mental of physical impairment but also want to keep them safe and secure through GPS technology. There a few items on the market for this now, but we expect GPS watches for Alzheimer’s and other impairments to increase over the next 5 years.

GPS technology is still in the early stages of being adopted in consumer products. This may not currently meet your needs of having the exact knowledge you want exactly when you want it, but it will in time. Just give it five to ten years and you will have access to a lot more information via GPS that you do today. It may even be the information that you are wanting right now.

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GPS Tracking Watches For The Working Dad

Probably the worst part about being a dad is having to leave your wife and kids to go to work. IT is a strange game that modern man has to play in today’s society. Before the industrial revolution father’s spend a significant amount of time with their children, especially the boys. From a very early age the fathers would teach their sons the trade by which they made a living. When you went to work, your child went with you.

Not so today. Our children go to work (school) just like we do and we have handed over the responsibility of teaching our children job skills to government institutions and professional baby sitters. There are ways to reverse this trend (home schooling), but most of them are more radical than many have the stomach or financial resources for.

GPS tracking watches can help you bridge the gap that work inserts between you and your child. While using a GPS watch is not the best way to do this, for those that already own one or are planning on getting one it can be a nice bonus in addition to the fitness benefits of the GPS tracking watch.

Here is how to use your standard GPS tracking watch to decrease the disconnect between you and your child: use your watch at work.

Well, it’s not that simple, but that is the first step. The next phase of the plan is to share this information with your child in all the glory of 3D with Google Earth or Microsoft’s Virtual Earth 3D. By downloading your tracks onto your computer you are opening up the opportunity to show your child exactly where your day took you.

For some of us who sit a desk all day long it might require a little imagination to get your kid interested. But if your occupation is one where you are constantly moving - like a postman, construction worker, plumber, or policeman - you will be able to relive your day to your child in vivid detail.

You could mention how one particular house was a little stinky inside or that you saw a particularly nasty looking dog on that street or any slew of interesting or exciting things. You can also teach your child the finer points of your trade with the 3D map sitting in front of you on you computer. Did a particularly important meeting take you out of the office? Use this opportunity to teach your child something about what you do as the assistant to the regional manager. Teach them the basics of a sales pitch or show them why speaking well in front of a crowd is important.

Kids learn by example and by mimicking the behavior of their parents. If they see you using your gps device they will much more receptive to using their own GPS kids tracker. You will also benefit from enriching the life of your child with all the years of experience that you have in your chosen trade. As they grow they will have a better understanding of how things work in the world and how to be a productive member of society. And besides, you could have a lot of fun in the process.

This article was included in the Carnival of Family Life at All Rileyed Up

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GPS Kid Tracking Tip - Adventure is King

Kids have a flare for adventure, especially boys. Put any boy in a room with a variety of toys they will eventually find themselves turning something into a weapon of some kind or imagining they are one of their favorite heroes from a book, TV show, or movie. Boys are born for adventure. For the wise parent, this often misunderstood quality can be harnessed into you most important asset in keeping your child safe. It is also a great way to get them to wear their GPS tracking device. The trick is to work with their adventuring spirit rather than try to snuff it out and turn them into little girls.

Cultivating the Adventurer Within

Boys want to be special. They want to be seen as strong and courageous. There is something deep within them that longs to be filled with adventure. As a parent, you can lovingly guide them toward this in a safe and controlled way by utilizing a GPS kids device. After all, you want them to be safer in the event that the unthinkable would occur.

The best way to get your child to buy into using their GPS tracking device is to associate it with adventure. You can do this in any number of ways, depending on what particular flavor of adventurer your child likes. Do they love Indiana Jones? Any good modern day archaeologist uses GPS extensively, often employing multiple devices get measurements within 5 cm. Are they a fan of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers? No good Ranger goes without a locater so the rest of squad knows exactly where he is and can run to his aid when a foe approaches. Transformers, Bob the Builder, even Dora the Explorer all ‘use’ GPS for their needs. By associating the GPS with their favorite adventurer and offering them a chance to do the same you are using a built in incentive to using the device - getting to be like their hero.

GPS Kids Devices Are Made For Adventure

Now that you have spoken with your child about the device and wowed them with the association you made with their favorite adventurer it is time to reinforce the relationship between their GPS device and fun/adventure. You can do this in any number of ways. Take your child on a walk around the park while you go on an “adventure with them.” Be sure to bring a GPS device of your own with you. It can be your GPS tracking watch or Blackberry. A Blackberry or other internet enabled cell phone might be a better choice because that way you can access your tracking service associated with your child’s device.

On your adventure stop at some point and make a reference to ‘needing’ to find exactly where you are at - to call in reinforcements, or to log the location of a valuable item, or to mark you way home. Take out your phone and access your real-time tracking service, displaying a map of your location. Show this to you child and let them know that you will be able to get this information at any time as long as they have their GPS device with them. You can do this a few more times if it will make your adventure together more interesting and fun for the both of you.

By now your child should have had a good experience with you and their GPS kids device. If you want to, and you probably will because it was so much fun, you can always re-create this type of adventure scenario to acclimate your child to their device. This will help the child think positively about GPS technology and will help them be more aware of their device, thus reducing the risk of them losing it.

Some Additional Kids GPS Considerations

In addition to using the a GPS tracking device, teach your child regular safety information. All the GPS training will do little good if they don’t know the basics. Avoid using fear as motivation for you child. It will turn out badly for them and for you. Instead, use positive thoughts, images, and incentives to achieve the behavior you are desiring. Your child will be healthier emotionally and they will probably do a better job meeting your expectations than if you used fear based tactics.

Related Posts:
Getting Your Child To Wear Their Kids GPS Tracking Watch - The Power of Fun

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Three Unconventional Uses of GPS Tracking Watches

Most GPS watches are used for fitness applications. They are light weight and durable, providing just what the serious athlete needs to gather information about their workout to push their bodies to the next level. But that is not all that GPS tracking watches are good for. In fact, they can be used for many different purposes. Here are three:

Measure Something

Have you ever wondered just how big your apartment complex is? How far your child walks to school? Or the approximate size of the lot you are thinking of purchasing? Well, most GPS watches are going to be able to perform these measurements for you - without having to spend a single cent on gasoline. All you have to do is have your watch on as you take a relaxing stroll around you apartment in the evening, or as you walk your kid to school, or as you survey your potential purchase. These powerful systems will silently track all your information for you - can can even set way points along the way to help you track specific portions of the trip or to help you find the exact spot where you began your measurements.

Most watches also allow you to interface with a computer mapping application. This can give you a satellite image of your journey. Not only will you have information concerning the object or distance you measured, but also you will now be able to process that information in the larger context of the world you live in.

Exploring

As mentioned above, GPS watches have the ability to set way points. One watch in particular, the Suunto X9i, advertise this feature aggressively. Suunto likes to classify this as a ‘military’ feature, but most fitness GPS devices have a similar function. Way points are generally very useful.

It is particularly helpful in exploring unfamiliar territory - whether it be out in mother nature or in a new neighborhood or city. All you need to do is log your starting location into your watch and be amazed as it records electronic breadcrumbs for you to follow once you have explored to you hearts content. This makes it very easy to find you way back and takes a lot of the stress out of exploration.

Analyze Your Commute

A GPS tracker is also helpful if you want to take a closer look at your commute to and from work. With gas prices being what they are and looking to go even higher, making our driving time as efficient as we can is important to our pocket books and to the environment. All you need to do is have your GPS watch in tow, for this example lets consider you have the Garmin Forerunner 405. This model comes with a heart rate monitor, an addition that will add a nice little bit of information for our analysis.

By utlizing the heart rate monitor you will not only be recording the standard information found in a GPS tracking watch - speed, direction, altitude, and time - but you will also be able to see your heart rate. Does your commute make you particularly stressed? Do you sometimes feel burnt out after getting out of your car when you left work feeling fine? A your Garmin Forerunner 405 with heart rate monitor will help you see where and when changes in your heart rate occurred during your commute. You will even be able to see interesting information that you would normally never be able to see - how your heart rate responds to a crisis.

During rush hour many near accidents occur. When this happens and we are wearing our GPS watch we will be able to see exactly how these near accidents affect our heart rate. This is really interesting information and it is all made possible by your GPS tracking watch! You can share this information with your children and get them excited about their own GPS kids device.

GPS tracking watches have tons of possible uses and applications in a variety of daily activities. The ability of these devices is improve our understanding of the world around is immense if we are willing to be imaginative enough to utilize them to their fullest potential. GPS technology is simply a tool waiting to be used.

This post was included in the Carnival of Tips at Tip Diva

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Improve Fitness With A GPS Tracking Watch

We all exercise for different reasons. Some of us love the experience of testing your mettle against all that mother nature has to offer. Others like how a jog outside can break the monotony of treadmills and gym membership. Many cannot afford, or simply cannot handle, gyms so they turn to outside activities to get the most out of their fitness routine. It does not matter what the reason you go outdoors for your fitness regimen is - GPS tracking watches will enhance it.

One of the main assets of a GPS watch is its ability to track many different pieces of information simultaneously. Most watches record the following basic information that is important for your training - your speed, the total distance traveled, and the changes in altitude made over the course of your workout. In most workouts without a GPS tracking watch the best you can get for these metrics is the average.

Let us take a look at an example to see the benefit of what a GPS tracking device will do for you. If you just did your 7.4 mile trail run in 56:32 you can calculate that you ran an average speed of 7.86 miles per hour. This is important information in and of itself, but what if you can find your actual speed at any given point of the trail? Wouldn’t that help you get a better picture of how you can improve your workout and increase your speed? This is the power that GPS tracking watches provide - and it does so without you having to notice landmarks or check your watch and remember at what time you passed it. Your entire focus can be on hitting the trail, improving your speed, and enjoying all that it has to offer.

When you add the power of a heart rate monitor to the equation you have the perfect combination of effortless information tracking and training analysis. Not only do you get the standard information of speed, distance, and elevation, but now you also can see just how each of these affected your body’s performance - the real key in getting your training to the next level. I have talked previously about Garmin GPS tracking watches and the following is a screen shot taken from data recorded on one of these devices:

Garmin GPS Tracking Watch Output

These graphs are extremely data rich and can really help you better understand your body and the nature of your workouts. They provide information that you would not be able to gather otherwise! Who on earth has the coordination and concentration to keep pace while checking their pulse? Moving your hand away from pumping causes inefficiency of motion and only produces an estimate of your beats per minute. A GPS watch used in tandem with a heart rate monitor is an extremely efficient way to gather this information.

In addition to it being efficient, it is also very fun. Having the ability to see the exact locations of your run, kayak, or hike can add an element of adventure that goes beyond the actual experience. Looking at your route from outer space can give you new ideas of paths to take or interesting features to explore. This can be added motivation to improve your fitness even further and to hit the trail when you don’t really feel like it.

GPS tracking watches provide everything a person needs for outdoor exercise. The casual adventurer receives added motivation through the fun interface to explore new areas or push themselves to new limits. The more dedicate fitness enthusiast can access the powerful information recorded by the watch for use in analyzing their routine’s weaknesses and pushing their body to new heights of physical exertion. They are the best non-essential devices out there.

This article was included in the:
19th Edition of Weight Management and Fitness Forum
Workout Blog Carnival

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