“You Can’t Ever Be Too Protective”—Mom Defends Tracking Her Kids With Apple AirTags

Tech tags like Apple AirTags and Tile are all the rage. I mean, how great is it to beep your keys or wallet if you can’t find them? (Ask me how I know about the keys. Oy!) But one mom has a rather unique use for these tech tags that’s causing a bit of a dustup on TikTok: she puts them on bracelets on her two and four-year-old children and has “trained” them to come to her when the AirTags beep.

North Carolina mom Vada Stevens, 24, took to TikTok to share how she’s using Apple AirTags on bracelets for her little girls. She jokingly captured the video “Today we are dog training,” but some TikTok viewers don’t find it all that funny. Negative comments have ranged from “It’s giving shock collar vibes.” “to I love that she said ‘train’ instead of ‘teach,'” and “They’re not dogs, WTF.”

But Stevens doesn’t really care about the criticism: she cares about knowing where her kids are at all times. When she beeps the AirTag bracelets, her kids come running, and the peace of mind far outweighs the negatives for her.

@stevensfam Today we are dog training 🐶 Outfits: @Kailani Kids Mom genius: @Lacey Johnson ♬ Funny Music Background – original_soundtrack

“I am extremely paranoid about everything (related to) safety,” she told TODAY. “I thought the bracelets were genius.” She goes on to explain that her 2-year-old can take off in a hot second if she turns her head, and that the bracelets give her confidence that she can get her back to safety if she wanders off. If the toddler doesn’t respond the the bracelet’s beep, she can quickly locate her using the “Find My” app on her iPhone.

Stevens also says she really doesn’t care if other parents think she’s crazy.