GPS tracking for teens is a valid parenting method that those who are concerned about their teen's safety or who would like to be more information about their child's location can take advantage of. Cell phones can be a very useful means for parents to to do so. These devices are empowering, providing parents who give there kids some freedoms the ability to know where there teen is in a safe and effective way. Knowing their location is the first step to ensuring that the teenager is safe - Are they were they should be? Are in a strange location? Are they traveling way too fast?

GPS cell phone tracking helps parents find the answers to these questions and others like them, assisting the parent in keeping their teen safe.

This is especially important in teens exhibiting behavioral problems or in teens at high risk of abduction. Since cell phones are in almost every single household, using a cell phone for this purpose is easy. It may not work for all circumstances and situations, but cell phone tracking does provide parents with a solid method of finding their teen's location

Cell phone companies started getting into GPS tracking when they realized that the market for GPS navigation was pretty big. Cell phones were much more prevelant than personal GPS navigation units and they thought they could improve their users experience by implementing a navigation element to their phones. This put them in direct competition with GPS manufacturers like Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan. The reason that they could do this is because cell phones can easilty use trilateration to get a fix on its location just like traditional GPS satellites do.

Since providers were already using cell phones to determine location for navigation purposes, it was a very small jump for them to begin using the exact same technology to track the cell phone. So providers leveraged this technology to provide GPS tracking cell phones. These are now currently being marketed as both teen trackers as well as child trackers to parents accross the nation.

Providers offer specialized plans let parents track their teen’s position. Not only do they help you determine their position, they also allow you get an understanding of their vector (speed and location), which is one of the main benefits of using a GPS tracking cell phone for teens. Even the cheap cell phones that you can get for free with your plan have this type of functionality.

There are four main benefits to using cell phones to track your teen:

1. Most teens already have a cell phone.  Cell phone proliferation is amazing and it is quickly surpassing the land lines all over the world.  In America is seems as though at least 7 out of 10 teens have a cell phone.  This means that you won't need to buy another GPS device to use to track your teen, which means more money in your wallet, which means you will be happier.
   
2. Cell phone signals extend to many locations that GPS has problems.  Traditional GPS has typically required direct line of sight to the sky to work properly.  This generally meant that people under thick tree canopies or inside buildings could not benefit from this tracking technology.  Most cell phones work under these conditions, making cell phones much better for keeping tabs on your teenager.
   
3. Teens have an incentive to keep their cell phone with them.  What teenager wants their cell phone battery to die?  Not a single on of them!  Then they would be without texting, without the Internet, without the ability to talk to friends - they would be cut off from their world!  This nice little incentive helps keep you alerted to their activity and is  built in mechanism for making sure that they are always safe and sound.
4. It is a cell phone - which means you can talk to your teen.  If you are wondering if your teen is alright all you need to do is pick up the phone and call them.  They can't lie to you on the other end about where they are because you know exactly where they are.  There cell phone is telling you!
   

Despite cell phone tracking’s relative superiority over other methods of electronically keeping track of your teen there are still some limitations to its ability to help.  These are:

1. Cell phones do not always get a signal. This is particularly problematic in remote locations where cell phone towers are less ubiquitous. If the cell phone isn't getting a signal the wireless provider has no way of knowing where the phone is.  This means you don't know where your teen is.
   
2. The cell phone must be on.  Cell phones run out of batteries.  They get turned off by teens who don't want to be disturbed or tracked.  This means that you can suffer from black outs in tracking leaving you without the knowledge that you are paying for.
   
3. Cell phones are usually the first things to go in an abduction.  Any savvy person knows that a cell phone can be tracked by the police.  TV has taught us all that by now.  So why would someone engaged in criminal activity let your teen keep their cell phone?  The answer is that they won't. 
   

In general these limitations can be overcome with training and wise parenting, but it is important to list them so parents can think about solutions to these problems that work for them.

What is GPS cell phone tracking? GPS cell phone tracking is the process by which cell phone providers use mathematical principles to determine the location of a cell phone. This principle is called trilateration and uses the known position of cell phone towers or GPS satellites to get a fix on the location of the cell phone. The phone can then transmit this data back to the cell phone company if asked.

Can any cell phone be tracked? Yes. Federal law requires that all cell phones have the ability to be tracked by the cell phone provider. However, providers do no normally track and record the location of specific cell phones on a regular basis unless asked to by the user themselves (i.e. through a subscription to a service) or by law enforcement.

When can a cell phone be tracked? Cell phones must be on and receiving a signal from a cell tower in order to be tracked.

How much does cell phone tracking cost? This depends on the specific wireless provider. Rates range from $5 and up for certain tracking plans.

How reliable is cell phone tracking? Very. It can find the location of a person to within a dozen feet depending on whether it is truly a GPS cell phone or just a cell phone that is being tracked. Cell phones that don't rely on GPS technology are generally a little less accurate, but still can narrow down a location considerably.