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?
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:
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,
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6 comments:
This is an important topic. There are many good reasons to limit kids' screen time and exposure to technology.
I sometimes wonder this about my teenager - Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
I'm so glad you addressed this issue. It is a serious concern for many families. My own nephew seems to be addicted to tech tools and this definitely impedes socialization. Thank you so much for sharing 'Is Your Child Addicted to the Iphone/Ipod/Ipad?' with us at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I'm pinning and sharing.
Thanks Debra. I was at a family event an observed a few teenagers glued to their cellphones.
Thanks Shannon. I agree.
Your welcome Amber.
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