Is Your Child Addicted to the Iphone/Ipod/Ipad?

You may have given your children a cellphone or other device in case of an emergency, but are your children using using the phone constantly when they are not in school? It is possible your children are addicted to their devices?

Should Kids Have Cellphones?

You may ask the question, “Should kids have cellphones?” You may also ask yourself what is age appropriateness for children to have cellphones? That may be a question that you as a parent will need to ask when determining the maturity of your child.

Teen Social Media Sites

Parents you may already know about a few of the social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but do you know about Snapchat and Pheed. According to today.com Snapchat is a media site where teens can send messages and text that is destroyed seconds after they are received. The danger is the risk of inappropriate pictures or messages. The Pheed sight allows digital content of 420 characters, audio tracks and live broadcasts. It was further added that according to a study by Pew Internet in 2013 that teens are sharing more information than ever. These are just a few of the media sites teens are using and I am sure there are newer ones that are still in the making.

As I watched the TV series “Halt and Catch Fire” I had no idea at first what this series was about. I discovered that this one group had formed a company from their house and was promoting games with interactions from the community. As the one member went to the houses of some of the gamers because of a networking issue he discovered the mother had canceled the subscription because her child had charged too much money to her credit card by playing the games. She suggested her child had no social life. Her child on the other hand felt differently. He suggested all of his friends played and they would chat to each other while playing. So some teens tend to view devices differently than their parents especially when they are not paying for it. Parents are you aware what pictures your children are taking and putting on social media? Are you aware of the game rooms that they are playing in? Are you aware of some of the people that they are talking too?

Cellphones and Radiation

According to Healthy child.org., those that begin using cellphones as teenagers have 4 to 5 times more diseases in less than 10 years. They further add being exposed to the radiation from cellphones may play a major role in attention and hearing deficits, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's and much more.

Parental Controls for Cell Phones

Did you know that all major United States cell phone carriers provide parental controls for cell phones. Although according to faithandsafety.org. Parental control options may be activated through your carrier's web site. The major Cell Phone site Links are listed below:

AT&T Smart Controls: http://www.att.net/smartcontrols-WirelessParentalControls
T-Mobile Safety and Security: http://family.t-mobile.com/safety-and-security
Sprint Safety, Security, and Controls: http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/services_solutions/
Verizon Safeguards: https://wbillpay.verizonwireless.com/vzw/nos/safeguards/safeguardLandingPage.action  For online tutorials for Verizon control options, see: http://responsibility.verizon.com/online-safety



In the article http://anointedtoday.blogspot.com/2015/05/3-awesome-factors-to-protect-your-kids.html,  I talk about additional safety precautions for keeping your kids safe while online.

Balance

There needs to be some type of balance in your children's lives. Teenagers sometimes go to extremes and may find it difficult to find a happy medium. Just as you may monitor yourself from time on the computer or Social Media, you may want to do the same with your children. Teenagers may feel that the cellphone is their major connection to their friends and without that may feel lost. Even so they still need to give friends a rest sometimes. Suggest healthy choices such as a board game, going for a walk, bicycle riding, going swimming or to the park. So take a look at how much your children are on their cellphones, ipods, or ipads and make an assessment. Could your children be addicted to their devices? You be the judge.

Photo Caption: wikimedia, by Picture Youth, Licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Source:

Moms, You ought Know: 11 social media apps teens are, Lela Davidson

Cell Phones, Radiation & YourChild's Health, guest blogger Devra Davis, PhD,

Cell Phones and Kids

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