Mobile phones for children

[Mr Ribbit]

Mobile phones are so cheap to get these days and with childrens safety a major concern, how old should a child be for them to be given a mobile phone for emergencies? At the same time, if they are too young, does it encourage children to get used to having 'expensive' material things or to keep up with other kids with the latest phones? :unsure:

Just thought I'd ask the question. :)

[Bonkers Mad!!!]

i got my eldest boy his when he started senior school, just so i could check up on him if he was late home. that was before mobiles became easy pickings for thieves. i haven't decided whether or not to get the youngest one when he goes up next year.

[Domestic Goddess]

My eldest daughter starts senior school next September and we are considering getting her a phone then for safety reasons. We don't want her to be chatting on it all the time though and we realise that we would have little control over who she is talking to. We just like the idea of being able to know where she is all the time. That said I survived my teens without a phone, so perhaps we are just being over protective. It's so hard with parenting to know if you're doing the right thing or not.

[violet]

Mobiles can't dance moby :wacko: . They can however take photos! lol

[freakyfun]

Just for your info:

IEGMP Stewart Report "Mobile Phones & Health"

if there are currently unrecognised adverse health effects from the use of mobile phones, children may be more vulnerable because of their developing nervous system, the greater absorption of energy in the tissues of the head and a longer lifetime of exposure
(paragraph 1.53).

the widespread use of phones by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged
(paragraph 1.53).

So there we have it, give your kids mobile phones, but restrict them to essential calls only. How you do that .. not sure.

FF

[Beth]

I do get a little concerned when I see small children talking on them, 7, 8, 9yr olds etc.
mainly because as yet they havenot proved if there is radiation emited from them, some studies have said that the younger a child uses a mobile phone the greater the risk is to their heads, undevoloping brains, possible tumours etc.

I think for safety reasons they are great, when I was little I had to carry 10p with me in case I ever needed to make a phone call, now its 30p in a phone box....thats if you can find one, and if you do find one, will it be working!?

there again the safety risk can also be out weighed by the risk of robbery or mugging, many children in certain areas are mugged for their phones :(

so its swings and roundabouts

[Dee]

Personally... having had the embarrassment myself as a child, i think all kids should be banned from the use of a mobile unless in a dire emergency, to call home or for help. In all other cases, I believe that every child should have to suffer the phone being answered by a very sarcastic mother/hostile father ("you touch my daughter, I kill you") when the latest bloke/girl calls for a date. Additionally, marching to the phone box in the snow to return that call because it is far to embarrassing to have parents listen in, is all part of growing up a child should have to suffer.

Why give a kid a mobile phone so they avoid all this torture?! Just my opinion, and I'm sticking to it...

:hihi: :lol: :hihi: