Children and Cell Phones

Should Children Be Allowed to Own and Use Cellphones?
It is difficult to imagine a time when we did not have cell phones. Many of us rely on our phone throughout the day in order to stay in contact with our business, friends and families. Whether we like the cell phone or not, it has become an essential part of our society and there is little chance of its use being curtailed in the near future.

Even children have begun to carry their own cell phones, not only for emergency and family use but to stay in touch with their friends through the use of text messaging. What are the positive and negative points of allowing a child to carry a cell phone?

There's no doubt that when it's necessary, a cell phone becomes an important tool for a child to use in the event of an emergency. We live in a very difficult and sometimes dangerous world. Having a means of contact with your child at all times through the use of a cell phone could be a matter of their personal safety.

Children have used cell phones to contact their parents or officials in the event of a threatening situation and have even used the photo ability of the cell phone to ward off or identify predators. As children grow older, it is also often a good idea to give them a certain degree of relative freedom. Responsible cell phone ownership could provide this for your child.

On the other hand, owning a cell phone can have a lot of negative impact on a child as well. These phones can be a large distraction to them, both within the walls of the school system and outside.

It becomes very easy for the child to receive text messages and pictures that the parents may not approve of. Along with that, there are also some health concerns, although unconfirmed, about the dangers of having concentrated cellular waves so close to a developing body on a regular basis.

One option that may meld the two together is to have a cell phone for the child that is limited in its capability to send and receive calls. It would only be able to call out to emergency numbers and can only send and receive two pre-established numbers. This would give the parents some peace of mind, knowing that their child has a means to contact them in case of an emergency.

There are several lines of reasoning that may help you to come to a decision of your own. First of all, if you have children this needs to be a personal issue, one that you will decide for the benefit of your children and yourself. You will also have to make sure that the cell phones are used within the guidelines that are established for them in the school system. That's part of being a parent, the responsibility of making decisions for your child within certain guidelines.