Northeast Gardening: Kids and cell phones, 1 by victorgardener

victorgardener wrote:
We've been discussing this a bit on the coffee thread, but I think it warrants a thread of its own. I would like to hear as many viewpoints as possible on this. My older guy is now in middle school and I am starting to think about when I will get him one.

As I said, there were already a few kids in his class with ones in first grade! Most of them seemed to be 'emergency' ones, but some were already calling each other (mostly girls - sorry!). Now, I would say most of his classmates in 5th grade have one and talk and text all the time.

When I get one for him, it will probably be the four emergency numbers deal, though he is not the type to chat needlessly anyway. Neither my wife nor I are phone people!

So I would like to heart the arguments - for emergencies, I can always contact them and know where they are, because of all the activities, etc. On the flip, they are too young, will be wasting time and money, will be texting instead of interacting with people - a big problem, we got along fine without them, etc.

A biggie for me that people don't even consider is their safety. I have been following this part of the story for years, and it's just like the controversy 20 years ago regarding proximity to power lines. Everyone who uses a cell phone should use a headset. I believe we will start to see serious medical issues in the years to come - when it's too late. It' emits (and receives) very small signals, but with any radiation, proximity is everything. These things are right NEXT to your brain!

Please join in.