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"Halloween is a magical time for kids, and for parents as well. You get to re-live your childhood trick-or-treating along with your children. \nBut parents should still take precautions, especially when their kids go trick-or-treating alone. A number of apps can track your child and give you peace of mind while you hand out candy and enjoy the holiday. \nMamabear is a free app for Android and iOS devices. It tracks your child's location using GPS. It also alerts you when your child has added a new Facebook friend. \nTo use it, ask your entire family to download the Mamabear app. Your child's version of the app lets her \"check in\" to let you know where she is, \"request to be picked up\" if she needs a ride or send an \"SOS\" if she's in trouble. Alerts notify you that your child has made it to soccer practice, or has visited a restricted place. \n\nSEE ALSO: 15 Unbelievable Halloween Makeup Tutorials on YouTube  \nThe Amber Alert program has mobile apps, plus a tracking device that you can give to your child and monitor from a computer or smartphone. The Amber Alert GPS Device can be attached to a backpack or belt. The device allows you to track not only where your child is going, but also how fast, so you know if he's been picked up by a car. Alerts notify you if his travel has exceeded a pre-determined speed. Zone alerts allow you to create boundaries where your child usually hangs out, like school, home or a friend's house. When he leaves that area, you'll receive an alert. \nThe device syncs with the National Database of Sex Offenders so you'll receive an alert if your child moves within 500 feet of the home of a registered child sex offender. An \"SOS\" button on the device lets your child send an alert to you if he's in trouble or frightened. The device is free with a three-year service contract, or pre-pay for a one-year contract and buy the device for $179.  \nFootprints iOS app lets you set boundaries for your children and alerts you when they leave that area. Similar to other apps that give your children area boundaries, Footprints uses a tool called \"Geofences\" to track when your child leaves the areas she visits often, and shares that data with you in real time. \nGPS Tracking Pro for Android was made specifically with families in mind. Download the app on your smartphone and your child's (assuming she has one), and create an account through the app. Both people's real-time locations will show up on a map. The app uses pictures of your children as markers on the map, so each user knows how near or far they are to each other at any time. \nNQ Family Guardian app for Android shows where your children check in and and gives them a panic button if they're in danger. You can also monitor what they're downloading, texting and emailing. \n\nSEE ALSO: Trick or Tracker App Points Kids Home  \nSome experts have questioned the practice of tracking children via apps, saying it shows children you don't trust them. However, two-thirds of parents monitor their children's digital footprints, a Pew Research Study shows. The study also hints that this monitoring can lead to fights between parents and teens. \nDon't want to track your child? Install this free flashlight app for Android or the Flashlight by Rik for iOS devices on your child's phone. Download the call-911 iOS app for $0.99 on your child's phone \u2014 just launch the app, shake the phone and the app contacts emergency services. \nAnother smart tip: Check your neighborhood's sex offender list to determine which houses and areas your children should avoid this Halloween. \nDo you prefer any particular app to monitor your kids? Tell us about it in the comments. \nPhoto courtesy of iStockphoto, MariaPavlova "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/10/31/halloween-track-your-kids/>