Are mobile phones necessary for children?

Question

I mean children as small as 4th grade have personal mobiles for friends. Isn't it tooo much?

Answer 1

It is not necessary for kids that age. Children must be old enough to be responsible with such a device. I would say 6th grade, give it a try. However, they must be aware it never goes to school.

Answer 2

OK listen everyone has their own answer for this question.  No its not important or yes its important; all for their own reasons. No its not necessary but, a good safety feature! I gave one to my daughter this year she is only in the 1st grade crazy? Maybe, but, I like the idea when she is not with me say at a friends house, in school, any situation. And say she feels the ned to call me ON AN IMPORTANT basis like she is scared or whatever she can call me or even text me. I take it from her so she don't go out of control call her friends every second that's what the house phone is for =) But i like the idea that if i have a bad feeling i can call her! Hope that helps.

Answer 3

I absolutely think it is too much -- a 4th grader should never be alone long enough to need a cell phone even for an emergency.  I can see when they get old enough to take off for a bike ride or something like that. but otherwise it's ridiculous.  Even my 8th grader doesn't have one she just takes mine if she is going for a bike ride or walk with a friend.  

Answer 4

Obviously it's not NECESSARY; kids survived just fine before cell phones existed.  However, I would think that a very simple phone with very limited capabilities would be a good thing for even a small child to have.  A phone that would allow them to call mom/dad/911 would be a good thing; I'd CERTAINLY disable texting, picture messaging, and anything that would allow them to download things that cost money at that age.

Answer 5

It's Just a Little Phone, How Bad Can it be?

Some ten year reports are now being published overseas that report increased incidences of tumours on nerves that connect the ear to the brain and in the UK, there has been so much concern that the Government and industry are jointly funding a series of studies as part of the £7.4 million Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme, the results of which will not be available for some time.

That said, official advice is only to let children aged 16 and under use mobiles when necessary and to text as opposed to making calls, though this can ramp up bills considerably. A recently launched mobile phone for children aged 4-10, the Teddyfone, was widely condemned as irresponsible. A spokesman for the Mobile Operators Association said: "The companies we represent don't market their products to under-16s, as recommended by Sir William Stewart (Chairman of the Health Protection Agency). We believe that it is a responsible policy and is in line with the advice on health."

And therein lies the key. Believe it or not, there are ways to use a mobile responsibly that can reduce the effect of the radio waves being pumped through your head. It requires a brief explanation of how a phone works:

Mobile phones are designed to transmit radio waves in all directions because base stations could be in any direction with respect to phone users. This means that a proportion of the radio waves they produce is directed towards the user's body - your head, in short.

The radio waves that are directed towards the head of the phone user penetrate into the body tissues for a few centimetres and tend to be absorbed. In being absorbed, they give up their energy to the body tissues and this adds to the energy being produced by the body's metabolism. If you use the phone for a long time (six minutes is considered a long mobile phone call) then your head may feel warm where you held the phone to it - this is the effect of the increase in energy in your head. Some people have reported headaches after long mobile phone calls.

When you think how much smaller a child's head is with thinner skin (and with the very young, softer bone), giving them the same mobile an adult would use will potentially cause more damage. There are ways of buying a phone that will potentially harm you less as they all have to pump out radio waves to find a signal, though there are recommended limits and some phones have lower emissions - ask your retailer next time you change your handset.