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Children and Cell Phones: Where is The Silver Lining of Over Usage? As a parent, there are things you need to consider when introducing your child to a cell phone. What are the cell phone health effects on child development? Are there cell phones for child safety? What about cell phones and child brain development? This blog post takes a look at all of these cell phone child safety considerations.
Cell Phone Effects on Child Development: Where Do You Draw the Line?
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There’s a lot of controversy regarding what age we should allow children to have cell phones or whether they should own one at all. People say giving children phones too early can create attention problems or increase other health conditions.
Cell phones only started becoming an everyday item in the last two decades. As such, there isn’t enough long term research about the effects of cell phones and children. One thing that some doctors are worried about is the extensive exposure to electromagnetic radiation that comes off of phones and other devices.
Electromagnetic radiation (EMF) can decrease white and red blood cells, which weakens the immune system. It can affect hormone levels, damage DNA, and increase certain types of cancers.
Luckily, there are devices to protect your family from this radiation, and there are positives that come from cell phone use as a child. We’re going to discuss the silver lining of the benefits or children and how they might be doing some good for them, after all.
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Cell Phones for Increased Child Safety
Smartphones have a lot of built-in safety features that can be used by parents. You can call to check up on your children whenever they’re out and about. In reverse, your children can call you whenever there’s a problem or need your help. They can also call emergency services at any time if required.
As a parent, you can have access to follow their location so you know where they are at all times. This can give you peace of mind that they’re at school, or a friend’s house, and not somewhere they’re not supposed to be.
You can monitor their app usage and read what they’re writing to their friends online. Enabling this feature can minimize online bullying and watch out for online creepers.
Children Develop & Learn Responsibility
As children get older, it’s natural to start giving them more responsibilities and teaching them. One way to do this is with a cell phone. Before giving them the phone, you can have them do chores to work or earn the privilege.
Then, when they get a cell phone, you can have a conversation about how to take care of it. It can be a tool to keep grades up or to stay out of trouble. If they lose them or aren’t getting good grades, it can be a great way to understand the consequences of actions.
Only give them limited data or minutes, so they can start to learn the habit of budgeting. A cell phone can be used in a lot of ways to start teaching your children real-life skills and responsibilities.
Cell Phones and Child Development: Helps Children Become Tech Savvy
We’re moving quickly into a world that being tech-savvy is a requirement for some jobs. Many companies want people that are familiar with multiple software and applications, so when they get to work, this part of the training can be left out.
When your children are of job-seeking age, it will be even more critical than it is now. Giving your kid access to technology at a young age will make embracing it as easy for them as their native language. They won’t have to think about how to understand it, and it will be like second nature.
We all know that children learn quicker and more easily than adults, so why not let them learn about technology now, so that they can succeed in the future.
The Bottom Line Cell Phones & Children
There’s good and bad with everything in life, including technology. It’s very new to our history, so it’s hard to understand the right thing to do. Regardless of your beliefs, we can all agree as parents, and we want to do what’s best for our children.
If you’re contemplating if getting a phone for your child is the correct choice, keep these things in mind. Cell phones provide safety for your children, help them learn responsibility, can be used for educational purposes, and help them become more tech-savvy.
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