In keeping with the child safety theme of my blog related to my children's book, What Would You Do? A Kid's Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers, published by Headline Books, Inc. and available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and the Ingram and Follett catalogues, I enjoy posting blogs that will be helpful to parents in keeping their children safe. I think you will find this one quite helpful.
According to a New
York Times article, “Drilling Down: Rapid Rise of Children with Cell
Phones” by Alex Mindlin , the number of children with cell
phones has doubled since 2005. Mindlin
cites research done by Mediamark Research and Intelligence which shows that
21.8 % of girls own cell phones compared to 18.3% of boys. MediaMark reported
that, of the children surveyed, the majority of children who had cell phones,
36.1%, were children in the 10 to 11 year old age range. How young is too young
for a cell phone? There are advantages and disadvantagaes to young children owning cell phones.
Advantages
to Cell Phones for Kids
According to an article posted on About.com, “Kids
and Cell Phones” by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. (5/16/09), a distinct advantage for
parents allowing their children to have cell phones is that they can keep in
touch with them, not only for day-to-day practical purposes, but for emergency
situations as well. Parents who opt to get their children cell phones with a
GPS have the added advantage of keeping track of where the children are at all
times. This is particularly beneficial for parents of driving teens.
Though security and safety are the most important
reasons for allowing children cell phones, there are other reasons as well. Cell
phones help children keep
pace with friends who have cell phones, though this could be considered by some
as giving in to peer pressure, a negative rather than a positive. Parents who
allow their children to have cell phones can teach them responsibility as they
will have to learn to care for the phone, avoid losing it, and monitor
themselves to ensure they stay within their phone’s plan for calls and texting.
According
to an article posted on TMCnet.com, “Your Call: How Young is Too Young for a
Cell Phone” (11/11/10), a Nielson study showed that teens send and receive nearly 3,400
texts each month. The article maintains that some parents feel
that texting with their children has brought them closer together and improved
communication.
The
consensus of opinions expressed in postings on CNet: “Community Poll Forum: At
What Age Should Kids Get their First Cell Phone?”(6/20/06), seems to support
the opinion that when children reach the age where they start doing things on
their own without their parents or adult supervision, past the ages of 11 to 12,
then they should be allowed to have cell phones.
The
aforementioned article posted on TMCnet.com asserts that children should only
be allowed cell phones once very rigid rules are established and enforced for
their use. If children abide by their parent’s rules for owning and using their
cell phones, the safety and security aspect make child cell phone ownership a
plausible consideration.
Disadvantages to
Cell Phones for Kids
According to an article posted on
About.com, “Kids and Cell Phones” by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. one risk
to children having cell phones is the controversial, yet potential radiation
hazard that cell phones present. Citing facts
posted in an article on the website, All I Need: “Cell Phones Endanger
Children” by Tarak Serrano, The National Radiological Protection
Board of the United Kingdom, in January 2005, started advising parents not to
let their children under the age of 8 use cell phones. They cite evidence that
the potentially harmful effect of cell phone use has become increasing
persuasive. They base their warning on four studies done in Europe that
indicate that the possible radiological
hazards of cell phone use have been greatly underestimated.
Another disadvantage to child
ownership of cell phones is the expense involved. Quoting Dr. Vincent Iannelli
in the aforementioned article posted on About.com, “Cell phones can be
expensive. Once you get away from a basic plan, you can be hit with extra
charges for going over your minutes, sending text messages, buying ringtones,
and using the internet. Even with fees for text messages as low as 10 cents
each, that can quickly add up if you have an average kid that sends 10 to 20
text messages a day. And that doesn't include the cost of a replacement phone
if your kids lose their phone.”
According to Dr. Iannelli, though
the increased independence cell phones offer children can be an advantage, it
can also be a disadvantage. With cell
phones, children will have another way to communicate with the outside world
unsupervised by their parents. Likewise, the outside world, including sex
offenders, can communicate with children just as they try to do in chat rooms,
hiding behind the anonymity of text messaging.
Considering the
advantages and disadvantages to child cell phone ownership, parents themselves
must decide if
and when their children need cell phones. Parents should, however, make certain
their children can handle the responsibility for their cell phones before
purchasing them. They should also make certain that their children abide by
parental rules for use.
References
About.com: Pediatrics: “Kids and Cell Phone” shttp://pediatrics.about.com/od/otherparentingissues/i/kids_cellphones_2.htm
cnet.com
“Community poll forum: At what age should kids get their first cell
phone?” http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6142_102-185197.html
The All I Need: “Cell Phones Endanger Children” http://www.theallineed.com/family/05012302.htm
The New York Times: “Rapid Rise of Children with
Cell Phones” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/technology/08drill.html
TMCnet.com: “Your Call: How Young is Too Young for a
Cell Phone” http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/11/11/5133352.htm
