Mobile Phones For Kids
It’s finally happened. Your child wants a mobile phone – and you’re actually considering
mobile phones for kids as a viable option.
You worry about 3 things:
* Keeping your child safe from those harmful cell phone emissions you’ve read about
* Keeping them secure from mobile phone or internet predators
* Being hit with unexpectedly huge monthly phone bills, as they go beyond what their
plan allows
So let’s demystify what we can for you…
Cell Phones And Brain Cancer
Is there any truth to the rumors about children, cell phones and brain cancer? A study from a
Kent University sociologist, Dr. Adam Burgess, is just one of a plethora of such studies
providing research indicating that mobile phones cause no harm.
Also on the plus side: mobile phone microwave radiation energy is “millions of times lower”
than energy from X-rays, and doesn’t have sufficient energy to cause damage to human DNA.
However, you have to remember that formal research doesn’t deal even in strong probabilities,
but in black-and-white absolutes. The truth is, it has been proven that exposure to radiation
from mobile phones kills brain cells in live rats, even though these bursts of mobile phone
radiation were of short duration. (This is what one such study called “inconclusive”.)
It has also been proven that mobile phones do cause a slight heating of the brain, as well as
proteins ERK1 and 2. These proteins, which relate to cell division, are found at significant
levels in certain forms of cancer.
A British Department of Health pamphlet states “research does show that using mobile phones
affects brain activity…” and admits: “There are also significant gaps in our scientific
knowledge.” Their recommendation? To limit mobile use for children under 16, as their
brains and nervous systems are still growing.
But quite apart from possible health risks, there are other good reasons to limit your children’s
use of mobile phones…
Cell Phone Predators
Child predators don’t just lurk on street corners or the internet: They’ve invaded mobile
phones too. The big danger here? Text Messages and other media sent randomly to hook
children into engaging. This is especially true if you let your child engage in Social
Networking.
While it’s a very real danger, common sense should prevail here. It’s startling to discover the
amount of parents who give their children virtual free rein on the internet, but obsess about
mobile phone predators. (And vice versa.)
A more balanced approach is to:
* Educate your children about safe internet and mobile phone practices. (Remember that
people aren’t always who they say they are, don’t answer Text Messages from strangers,
don’t accept any downloads you haven’t asked for.
* Have features like Text Messaging blocked completely, if it makes you feel safer
The truth is, having a mobile phone (especially one with a GPS tracking device) would also be
a big plus, should your child ever be snatched by a stranger. And if they find themselves in
dangerous predicaments – for example, your spouse got into an accident and never picked them
up at school, and they’re standing out on the street alone – a cell phone can help them contact
you – or Emergency Services – quickly.
There is even a phone with parental controls made expressly for this purpose. You can program
the Firefly to call only either you or your spouse – or 911 for real emergencies. (Be sure to
educate them on what does constitute a real emergency!) Firefly handsets start at $49.99, plans
from $9.99. (In the U.K., they have a similar deal with the Teddyphone.)
Children And Blowing Your Mobile Phone Budget
But the truth is, you can call your mobile phone service provider and request that all internet
and text messaging capabilities be disabled on just about any mobile phone. You can set it so
that only you are allowed to make changes on the phone plan by setting a special extra
password. Unless this password (as well as the regular PIN) is given over the phone to the
mobile phone company Client Care representative, no changes can be made. (Mobile phone
companies are diligent about security.)
It’s well worth setting up the “extra password” precaution on your child’s phone, because
children can be devious when it comes to mobile phone use, in their quest to play the latest
game or talk endlessly with peers, as Telus Mobility employees know all too well.
“We had one case where a 9-year-old programmed his parental-control-activated kid’s cell
phone to wake him at 2 a.m. every morning so he could game all night on his dad’s phone,”
says Client Care representative Rosemary. “This came to light when I got a furious phone call
from his father, who wanted to know why he was being charged an extra $80 that month for
internet use on his mobile. He was blaming us at first, but by tracking the times of use, which I
was able to do on the spot, and him hauling his son to the phone, we found out that the son was
using the dad’s Blackberry® in the middle of the night to play games.”
With older children, you may be more concerned about teaching them responsible phone use.
One way to do this? Use “Pay-As-You-Go phones. “Provision the phone with a $10, $25 or $50
card and tell the child that’s the mobile allowance for the month. And once they’ve used it up,
that’s it for the month,” says Rosemary.
But the bottom line is… mobile phones can be life savers, when it comes to your child
experiencing an emergency situation when you aren’t physically by his side.
What will your choice be?
 Cost:
Free for you! |
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