Missing or kidnapped children hug the news every now and then. The scary flash of the Amber alert on CNN, pictures of grieving parents and videos of the on-going search are enough to scare any parent. No wonder some parents have turned paranoid.

Parents' child-rearing have been greatly affected due to their fear of the unthinkable happening to their own child. Kids, like chickens, are kept inside the gates, should they want to play.

IMHO, over protective parents MAY limit their children from making decisions and knowing right from wrong. No matter how good the intention is, it may leave them unprepared for life.

Children who are old enough to understand the dangers that exist outside should NOT be locked inside the house like prisoners.

To have that fear in your heart is normal. Hence, technology has given parents the right tool to ensure our children's safety even if they are not within our sight. Tech Digest has the following:

With the iKids phone by mTrack, you can locate your child within 20 metres via phone or net. "The phone has limited call capabilities and just four numbered buttons - three can be allocated to the phone by the parent together with a additional button that the child can use to get help at any time from all the stored numbers. Once subscribed to the service, parents can track their child in three ways - free through a map online or on a mobile which tracks the child every 10 minutes, instant tracking via a 'ping' or through a safety zone alert, which notifies parents via sms if their child has strayed from their specified area." A5520SA by Sanyo features a loud buzzer to call for help along with GPS tracking. "The buzzer is activated by a long press of a button. And by all accounts it is loud - very loud! . This will also trigger an alert to a nominated phone. This person can then locate the distressed child through the subscription GPS service."Firefly Kid's Phone by Cingular gives parental management of incoming and outgoing calls.

There are definitely more tech gadgets available to help us trust our kids' judgment more. Our fears need not hamper our kids' normal growth.