Tech or treat: high tech eases US parents' Halloween fears

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — High technology is poised to meet the Dracula costume this week as American parents kit their kids out for Halloween with glow sticks, reflective strips -- and a GPS tracking phone to go trick or treating.

"We offer a GPS-enabled service which allows families to locate a child or other family member using a PC, laptop or compatible phone," Laura Porter of US mobile phone company, Sprint, told AFP Monday, two days before some 36 million American children are expected to go trick of treating for Halloween.

Another mobile phone company, Verizon, offers a similar service to its subscribers.

"The Chaperone Parent provides a way for you to determine the location of your child's phone from the Internet or from a phone," Verizon spokeswoman Brenda...