Jenny writes:
“Mummy I’m Here! Child Locator & Alert is a revolutionary breakthrough, offering parents peace-of-mind. The Locator & Alert is effective, reliable and very easy to use. If your child wanders out of a range approximately 25 feet, the new ALERT feature will cause the keychain transmitter to chirp loudly. Then, simply push the button on your keychain transmitter and the teddy bear chirps, alerting you of your child’s whereabouts, while drawing attention to any situation your child may be in.” From: http://www.safe-girl.co.uk/kids-safe/29-mummy-i-m-here-child-locator-with-new-alert-feature.html
In today’s busy world, it is very easy for a parent to lose their child even if just for a minute. The feeling of fear and worry that you receive in that short space of time is awful and very upsetting. This product suggests that the risk of losing your child will vanish when you use the child locator and alert and I when I read the information for this product, I felt that it was definitely worth trying.
The product arrived quickly. The packaging was quite difficult to open and scissors had to be used. The product was clearly visible through the packaging and there was a lot of writing on the back of the packaging about how easily children are lost and how although most are found, some are tragically not. Personally I found this information slightly over-dramatic and like it was trying to scare people into needing this product. It was also slightly annoying that it was very American with the word ‘Mommy’ being used instead of Mummy but this is not a big problem and certainly does not affect the product.
The product is made up of two parts, the teddy bear shaped receiver which you attach to your child and a key-ring which the adult holds which is a wireless transmitter.
The instructions for this product were folded up quite small and slid into the back of the teddy bear: at first I did not see them but when I did, the instructions were very clear to understand although printed quite small. Luckily the instructions are also printed on the website in case you lose the original instructions or forget how to use the locator and alert.
The first thing I noticed was that the Teddy Bear Receiver was far too big and chunky to attach to my child’s shoe and still allow him to be able to walk comfortably. The product does say that it can be attached to a belt but after trying this, my child just kept trying to pull at it as I presume he felt that it ‘dug’ into his skin as he bent or moved.
At the moment my child only walks alone when he has his backpack reins set on and therefore I attached the Teddy bear to the strap on the back pack. For my child and situation, this worked fine.
Before placing on my child and relying on it, I practised and played with the product around the house. It was very easy to use and the ‘beep’ that it made when it was out of range was very loud and clear. The noise that it made to help the adult find the child was also nice and clear and loud as well as being easy to follow and find.
As a Scout Leader, I thought the perfect opportunity to test this product would be during a Scout Camp. When my older child was younger, I soon realised how easy it was for him to wander behind a tent or behind some trees and not be visible, which could sometimes result in me unnecessarily panicking. Therefore, I thought this product would help me to relax more in a camp situation especially around woodland and lakes. However, if I am honest, the range of 25 feet was not large enough for this kind of situation and there were times when he was just playing happily and easily visible and very safe but the device would sound because he was out of range. Therefore, we ended up not using the device for the intended use, although my older son and the Scouts did enjoy using it for a game of Hide and seek.
From trying out this product and discussing with other parents, it is obvious that this product could be very useful in very busy areas such as shopping centres, theme parks or events such as sporting events or a carnival where your child could easily get surrounded by other people making it very difficult for you to see them. It is not so ideal for large open areas such as play parks.
The Mommy I’m Here Child Locator and Alert is available from Safe Girl for £24.99
