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Cell Phones for Kids – Your Children’s Health
#1 Your children’s health and cell phones
No matter whether you want to admit or not, cell phones carry radio waves which are bad for children (and everyone). As a result of this, Erik Huber, environmental advisor of the Vienna Medical Association strongly recommends that children under the age of 16 SHOULD NEVER USE A MOBILE PHONE. But this is just one recommendation which I think doesn’t make much sense to me.
The British-based national Radiological Protection Board suggests that children younger than age 8 should not be given a cellular phone as it risks exposing their young bodies to harmful radiation.
So, my advice is: If your children are younger than 8 then DEFINITELY DON’T GIVE HIM A PHONE TO USE. If he is 8-16 then give him a non-bluetooth headset to use (gives some protection from cell phone radiation.) If you want to read more on this then check out this article, Cell Phone Safety.
The choice is entirely yours but protecting your child should be paramount. There are a few cell phone accessories you can buy which cut down on the harmful emissions. You can do a search for “cell phone shield” to find protective cell phone accessories options.
And now for something different
#2 Safety and other reasons for giving your child a cell phone
You, as a parent, will find the biggest reason to buy your child a cell phone is for their security and convenience. If they ever need something they can call you, if they feel they’re in danger they can call you too.
However, your children usually use that reason as an excuse. Their reason for wanting a cell phone is different. They want to call and text their friends, play games, download ringtones and so on. And that’s totally fine at their age…every child wants that and no parents has a right to forbid their children entertainment.
Instead of arguing with your child about the cell phone bill there are different ways to solve this problem of spending too much money for texting, calling…you limit it! Get your child a prepaid card. I don’t really think you should expect your children to be 100% responsible at the age of 12-16 so other than prepaid would not be good idea.
Of course, you must tell your child that he needs to be responsible for keeping his cell phone. Give him a good reason for that. For example, say something like “You need to keep your cell or if you break it then you’re not getting another for a year unless you buy it with your own money.” That should do the job J
The end decision should really depends on your situation. Different parents will give you different advice on when you should allow your child to have a cell phone. But they’re telling you from their point of view, their situation and experience. I’m telling you things as they are as objectively as possible.
So give your child a cell but be very wary of the economic and health issues. Those are the two most important things these days.
3 Comments Received
April 10th, 2009 @9:08 pm
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April 11th, 2009 @12:02 pm
#1 Health – I happen to know a little something about radio frequency and health. My husband builds and installs the towers and equipment that make cell phone use possible. He has been doing this for 15 years. My husband has never been sick or known of anyone in the industry that has gotten sick from working in, on, and around this high frequency equipment. There have not been any cancer clusters or other ailments reported or uncovered in his industry. For safety, they do carry RF monitors which alert to levels BELIEVED to be unsafe. But higher levels of RF are only related to specific types of broadcasting antennas. With that said, I do believe in being proactive about children’s health. When it comes to children, it is always better to err on the side of safety.
#2 Safety – Since when have parents decided cell phones are equivalent to an ADT home security system? I don’t need a cell phone to keep my children safe. It is my responsibility to ensure that my children are in a safe environment with safe people, a cell phone isn’t that advanced, yet. You are VERY accurate when you said a cell phone is used for convenience. Cell phones make everyone’s life easier, sometimes to their own detriment. If a cell phone has to be used to as the only means to supervise and communicate with my children (which happens to be the norm these days), I have already failed as a parent and their well being is not even an issue. What did parents ever do before this great invention???
Just a side note, I have every right as a parent to forbid ANYTHING, including entertainment. Your statement that “every child wants that and no parents has a right to forbid their children entertainment” is exactly what a child WOULD say.
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