Skechers just launched kids’ sneakers with a hidden slot for an Apple AirTag, and the internet experts are already grabbing their pitchforks and lighting torches. Some are calling it brilliant. Others are calling it helicopter parenting in disguise.

Me? I grew up in the 80s. After playing Defender on my Atari, my friends and I jumped BMX bikes off homemade plywood ramps without a helmet, disappeared for hours playing outside, and came home when the streetlights flickered on. Nobody tracked us. Nobody worried if we were two blocks over or halfway across town.

But here’s the thing — that was then.

The world’s different now.

Not necessarily worse, but different. Parents have tools we didn’t, and if an AirTag in your kid’s shoe helps you sleep at night, it doesn’t make you paranoid. It makes you a parent using the tools available to you.

Safety and Freedom Aren’t Enemies
You can give your kid space to roam and have a safety net. The AirTag doesn’t have to be a leash — it can be an emergency parachute. If you want to skip it entirely and let your kid navigate the way we did back in the day, that’s valid too.

The Real Problem? Outsourcing Parenting to the Comment Section
Somewhere along the way, parenting became a public sport. Every choice — from snack brands to safety gear — gets weighed, measured, and judged by strangers who’ve never met your kid.

Let’s be clear: The internet isn’t raising your child.

Some fancy PHD who wrote a white paper about parenting isn’t raising your kid.

You are.

You know your kid’s maturity level, your neighborhood, and your own peace of mind. Those factors should shape your decision — not whether a stranger on social thinks you’re too cautious or not cautious enough.

Call Your Own Shots
Parenting isn’t about passing some online purity test. The mom who tracks her kid isn’t smothering them. The dad who lets them roam isn’t negligent. They’re both just doing the best they can with what they’ve got.

So buy the Skechers or don’t. Slip in the AirTag or leave the slot empty. But make the choice because it’s right for you and your kid — not because you’re chasing internet approval.

Back in the 80s, we didn’t have comment sections. We had scraped knees, bad haircuts (my mom actually let me get a rat tail!), and a whole lot of trust that we’d make it home in one piece. That trust? Still worth holding onto.

If Puddle Jumpers has one core belief, it’s this: the best kids are forged in the space between safety and freedom to experience the ordinary.

The 80s gave me mud puddles, BMX wipeouts, and the kind of independence you can’t download.

Today’s parents have new tools — but the mission’s the same. Raise bold, joyful, resilient kids who can take a hit, find their way back, and still smile when they walk through the door.

My New Book is out in Spring 2026: Puddle Jumpers: How to Grow Bold, Joyful, Resilient Kids—One Mess at a Time