This week thousands of kids across the Treasure Valley are heading back to school, I loved seeing all of the back to school pictures on Facebook! (#mixbacktoschool)

Safety is always a big concern during the school year for kids who bike or walk to school. There are quite a few apps you can download on your phone and download them on your child's phone to see where they are in real-time.

If your kid has a phone, there are great apps like Life 360, which shows a map of your child's location and then sends alerts once they reach their destination. Friend Finder is another popular one. It’s a tracking device as well, but it also has a notification system if they're not answering your text or not responding so you can ping the phone and find out where it is.

For younger kids that don’t have smartphones, you can get wearable GPS trackers like a GizmoGadget watch lets kids send and receive calls from up to 10 contacts that you store.

There’s a 9-year-old Utah boy that says his Gizmo saved him from an attempted abduction earlier this month! The boy was on a short walk to a friend's house when he says a strange man approached him on the street.

The man picked him up and put him in the car before he sped off, the boy eventually unlocked the car door and jumped out as it was moving. He ran until he was safe and then reached for his wrist to call his step-dad!

It's still important to teach our kids about safety and being aware of surroundings, but with the added technology for peace of mind.

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