Female Founder/Entrepreneur, CEO TwinTech LLC, Creator of Monkey KID Sensor
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I think it's about prioritizing and if you need an app to keep track of your kids because emails and texts are more important, that's something you need to consider in your life.
Stop judging other people with snarky replies.
The idea that "well, I'm not perfect" is often used to defend mediocrity. I just want to be the best parent I can be and I think more parents should strive for that. And if you don't, that's cool too! Just don't go alone with your kids to a place that you might lose them and put their lives in danger.
My point was just that you don't have to be perfect to watch your kids. Again, if you're out with your kids, alone, and it "can't wait" then I think that should be an important point in your life. I just feel like the preys on the fear that parents might lose their kids and gives them an excuse to play on their phone more and engage with kids less.
Just my thoughts though.
What's the problem with having a safety backup? We live in a safe neighbourhood (UK), and our children play with some of the other children in the neighbourhood outside. I check up on them, but I don't stand outside watching them for 2 hours. Having a device that gives me more peace of mind is a positive, not a negative, surely?
I just think it builds a culture of fear that makes parents buy a product. This seems to be a digital version of one of those kid leash backpacks and, while it may make parenting "easier" it also might not instill kids and parents with the right habits and skills to navigate the world without those tools.
What does this product have to do with being on the phone for a few hours a day?
Here's another example use case: I take my kids to the park. Some of the other kids in the neighbourhood come too, along with their parents. My gaze is not focused on my children 100% of the time, because I'm conversing with the other parents. Having a safety net (which for all intents and purposes is just a cool monkey badge to the child) is useful, no question about it.
I just don't understand how your argument is relevant to the product.
Again, the "100%" you mentioned is a fallacy along the lines of "I'm not perfect." It provides an excuse. Nobody is 100%. But some people are watching their kids 10% of the time and that's not okay.
I can't / don't watch my kids 100% of the time, even if I'm at a park where it's safe and in an area that I know. If I take my kids to downtown Chicago at a public park with 100+ kids running around, you better believe I'm not focused on anything else other than them. I've also never been so distracted talking to another parent that I've lost my kids so I'm not sure how that's related?
At this point, I think we're just arguing about what each other is arguing about and not the core idea.
I just don't hire tech products to do my parenting for me, or to make it easier than it should be. I hire them to let me spend more time with my kids, not more time on my phone, talking to other parents, or allowing me an excuse to be distracted.
I don't see how this affects discipline or the mindset that it's OK to stray further/be less careful for children. This product has been designed to fit in with a child's attire, to look fun. This isn't a tracker to your children.
Regarding your point about being distracted by talking to other parents - I'm not saying it has happened to you, I'm simply stating that it CAN happen.
Ultimately this product will work for some people and won't work for others (such as yourself). No product will appeal to everyone and that's OK.
@FindYourMonkey Kimberly, good on you for creating a product with a positive vision. Keep at it!
As a side note: A more interesting proposition for this product would be tracking, which is the direction I hope these guys would be heading in. For example - you've lost your child, you shout for them and can't find them. Your phone shows you their location.