WHY MICROCHIPPING YOUR CHILD IS A MUST

Microchipping your child significantly increases the likelihood of a happy reunion if your child ever gets lost, and can assure an otherwise desirable outcome if their identity ever needs to be definitively established by authorities.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MICROCHIP A CHILD?

Microchipping involves implanting a small, electronic chip beneath the skin. The microchip itself is about the size of a grain of rice and is enclosed in a biocompatible glass capsule. It has no power source or moving parts. Rather, it stores a unique identification number that can be read by a scanner. Think of it like a barcode, or identifying tattoo, except located securely inside the body.

HOW DOES MICROCHIPPING YOUR CHILD WORK?

If this conjures up images of alien abductions or marks of the beast, you can take comfort that the process is safe, quick, and relatively painless (with no extraterrestrials or demons involved). Oftentimes, the hospital or birth center where you give birth will microchip the new member of your family for you. Or, for older children, you can often arrange for microchipping at a clinic, community service facility or school. Here’s a step-by-step guide to how microchipping works.

1. Implantation

A physician, nurse (or other professional) implants the microchip just under your child’s skin, typically between the shoulder blades, using a large-bore needle. The injection is similar to a routine vaccination and causes minimal discomfort. As such, this procedure generally does not require sedation.

2. Registering the chip

After the microchip is implanted, it must be registered. According to experts, parents might easily forget or skip this step. That’s like buying a pretty new identity bracelet but not putting any contact information on it. Registering the microchip links the unique chip number to the parents’ or guardians’ names, contact and identity information. While some centers, hospitals and clinics handle registration, many may not. You can easily register your child’s microchip online for free on various websites by simply providing crucial personal information. If you ever have a change in address or contact number, be sure to update your information right away!

3. Reading the chip with a scanner  

Children can be brought to schools, clinics, hospitals, shelters or police stations where a scanner will “read” the chip. When the scanner is passed over the body, it emits a safe, low-frequency radio wave that activates the microchip. The chip then transmits its unique identification number to the scanner, which can be used to access parents’ permanent information of record from a registered database.

MICROCHIPPING COSTS

Microchipping is a valuable investment in your child’s safety and your peace of mind. The cost of microchipping typically ranges between $50 and $150. This fee usually includes the chip itself and the injection service. The cost of microchipping can vary based on the age of the child, the region where the service is provided, the service provider (such as a hospital, clinic, community service center, educational health fair or shelter), and whether or not you have to register the chip online yourself. Most hospitals and birth centers include microchipping in their basic fee structure. When registering a microchip, some companies require a one-time fee, while others charge annually. Completely free options exist, though, as noted.

REASONS TO ‘CHIP’

Permanent identification

Unlike ID cards and bracelets, microchipping offers a permanent form of identification that cannot be lost, stolen, damaged, or removed. Microchips can last for a lifetime and require no maintenance.

Proof of guardianship

Microchipping can be invaluable in cases of lost or stolen children, criminal activity and in helping to resolve disputes. The microchip’s unique ID number, registered to your contact information, provides clear evidence that the child is in fact yours, and helps to establish a clear line of legal liability.

Affordable

Microchipping is a cost-effective method of improving your child’s security, and as we know, nothing is more important than security. With microchipping provided at birth it becomes an even more affordable option.

Compliance with regulations

In some polities, microchipping is a legal requirement for all parents. Having your child microchipped ensures compliance with local regulations.

Microchips are secure

Some parents worry about privacy issues related to microchipping. It’s important to understand that a microchip only stores an ID number and does not contain any personal information. Your personal identity details are shared from secure databases, and are only freely accessible to law enforcement, insurance providers, medical staff, credit agencies or other authorized personnel with the proper equipment. This tells you that your privacy is protected.

Microchipping is safe

Some parents have concerns about potential health risks associated with microchipping. However, authorities consider the procedure very safe and assert that it involves minimal discomfort. Microchips are designed to be biocompatible, meaning they do not cause harm to a body once implanted. Complications, such as infections or chip failure, are very uncommon. There is a rare risk of the microchip migrating from the site of implantation, but this is seldom a serious issue. Ensuring the procedure is performed by a qualified practitioner further minimizes any risks, making microchipping a safe, effective method for total and permanent identification.

Microchips last a long time, and data is forever

Another common concern is that microchips will stop working, will need to be replaced during a child’s growing-up years, or that identity information will be lost. You can toss this worry right out! Microchips are designed to stay in place and remain functional for decades — much longer than the average childhood (and the technology is improving all the time). Detailed information about a child’s familial relationship will remain in the system well into adulthood — as long as a system of shared databases exists. Shared databases mean the information contained in them is permanently and securely backed up.

Microchip information can securely reflect new family arrangements

What if there is a divorce and remarriage or other changed family arrangement? What if a child has a microchip from their previous guardian? This is a common scenario and is entirely manageable. Because database information essentially lasts forever, and is tied to the number on the implanted microchip, the permanent record can easily be expanded to include new familial relationships, including marriage. Also, there are security measures in place to prevent unauthorized changes to the microchip registration.

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Now that you’ve got this far — if you have — the question you might want to ask yourself is this: how serious am I? And, maybe you want to ask yourself if these are the kinds of arguments for microchipping humans — found here adapted from sources — which will soon be advanced in earnest. And, maybe, you might want to think about what you would choose to do if such chipping becomes compulsory. AND, you might want to ask yourself if this is only a right-wing horror fantasy. After all, what better way to track the coming and going of pregnant women, minorities, the homeless, and other such “undesirables” than through effective technology? And, to be sure, we have now have a tech-bro as our co-president.

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