Raising kids is not for the faint of heart. There always seems to be something to worry about, and anyone who has a spirited toddler knows they love to keep you on your toes and your anxiety levels high. One mom recently shared a hack she’s found to work to ease her nerves and keep her kiddo safe when they’re out in large crowds.
But she’s also getting lots of hate for her tip.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Brooke King shared the hack she’s been using that helps her keep track of her toddler and keep her safe while in large crowds.
"I always find myself running after her quickly,” she said of her 3-year-old, admitting that it’s hard to keep her eyes on her. “I didn't want to teach her that if she ran off, I would just run after her and it was OK to continue this behavior," she explained to the morning news show.
Her trick is to use Apple AirTags, disguised as a bracelet, to track her daughter’s location.
"It does help me feel more in control of the situation,” King explained. “As a parent, my top priority is her safety in addition to her ability to have some independence.”
When she shared her safety hack, however, there were mixed reactions on social media, and it sparked a frenzied, heated debate on both the AirTag use specifically and how King has chosen to address her concerns.
Most of the debate took place on Instagram.
Good Morning America shared a clip September 26 from its story on King to Instagram, and the comment section took off.
“Respectfully and personally, I feel a 3 year old should be in eye view at ALL times,” one person responded. “Using this device to track a toddler is not an alternative. Perhaps using this on an older child might prove to be beneficial.”
“I never needed something like that to take care of my daughter when she was a kid I was her smart device,” added someone else.
“So she is teaching her child it's okay to run off?” another commenter questioned. “If her top priority was her safety, she would not need a bracelet to keep track of her child's safety. But unfortunately parenting her child probably interferes with her ability to watch/post TickToks, or do a little partying.”
“She’s relying on technology to find her daughter, that should be own priority and not leave it up to Apple,” added someone else.
“Lazy parents way of ‘watching’ their kid without watching them,” another commenter wrote.
“OMG they are not meant to be babysitters,” someone else warned.
There were others who love the hack and already use it themselves.
“I had them made into keychains and tied them in their shoes when we went to Disney,” one person added. “Children are less likely to lose a shoe than a bracelet.”
“My kids have them in their backpacks,” shared another commenter. “When at Disney we clipped them to the inside of their shorts.”
“I’ve got one on my non-verbal son along with a Jiobit,” wrote someone else. “Best decision ever.”
In the end, as parents, we’re all doing the best we can. And if there is some technology that can be added into the toolbox, and it makes sense for you — why not use it?
