A family lawyer in Michigan has had 5 parental kidnapping cases this past year alone (!). She blogs on a new GPS tracking "wristwatch" that you can put on your child if you fear kidnapping. This wristwatch has an alarm that goes off if anybody tries to remove it.
If you live in Chicago, Illinois, there could be legal problems (invasion of privacy or interference with parent-child relationship) if you take this approach without court authorization. Thus, I would recommend consulting a lawyer before putting any tracking device on your child.
This month’s Illinois Bar Journal has a very good article on recent developments in grandparent visitation law. Below is a really short explanation for non-lawyers:
You have probably heard that child custody decisions are made with the “best interests of the child” in mind. This rule generally only applies for parents. For example, the court will use the “best interest of the child” standard when deciding how much visitation a parent should have.
However, if you are a grandparent, you cannot rely on the “best interests of the child” to force a reluctant parent to grant you visitation. A grandparent must “produce evidence which demostrates to a judge that a strong emotional bond has developed between the grandparent and the child and that the health, safety and welfare of the child will be adversely affected if visitation is entirely cut off.” ISBA Law Journal (May 2008).
