General Chat

my 13 year old nephew was givin a mobile phone when he started secondary school. his point was he'd need it in an emergency so parents bought him a basic phone, no camera,video,web that just does phone and texts, he has to pay for his crdit himself out of his pocket money. he uses it if he stays at an afterschool club if the end time changes etc. or if no buses are running. in that respect i think it's useful.

but yes i'd say 8 is too young. where do they go without you anyway?!

My Grandaughter has aphone, it's a pay as you go, she has it for emergencies and for her mum to contact her when she's out to come home, she is 10, 11 this year, she has times at friends houses when her mum is working when mum wants a quick word with her to make sure everything is ok.
I don't know that 10 is too young but I think it depends on the life style the family lives as to whether a phone is necessary..... Yes I think 8 is too young.

Gillie XX

May I also add, that the rules are strict as to who has the number, it's mum and dad, even I don't have it, she isn't allowed to use the phone just for chatting to her friend and she is forbidden to add anyone else to the phone or give her number out.

I am unsure as to what to do when my son starts secondary school after the Summer Holidays

I don't want him to have, and yes i agree they wern't about when we were younger...but i also didn't have to get on a train to go to school

But i do think 8 is way to young

I think it is very silly at 8 where do they go without you?

My 7 year old neice had one for xmas I dont understand why none of her friends have them the only people she calls or text's is her family, dont understand as she see's us all the time!!

This report from 2005 warned against children using mobile phones. A lot of the research is funded by the mobile companies and whilst no specific danger has yet been identified the industry is still in its relative infancy and therefore the long term affects are still unknown.

Report Reads:

last night after an authoritative report linked heavy use to ear and brain tumours and concluded that the risks had been underestimated by most scientists.
Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said that evidence of potentially harmful effects had become more persuasive over the past five years.

The news prompted calls for phones to carry health warnings and panic in parts of the industry. One British manufacturer immediately suspended a model aimed at four to eight-year-olds.

The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number of children aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.

In his report, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.

“All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he added.

For children aged between 8 and 14, parents had to make their own judgments about the risks and benefits. “I can’t believe that for three to eight year-olds they can be readily justified,” he said.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called last night for a ban on mobiles in schools.

Mobile phone companies reacted furiously, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.

The World Health Organisation is preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.

The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”

One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.

One group that appears to target young users is Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which derives much of its revenue from the 16s-35s market. It denies targeting under 16s but has cornered a large slice of the youth market with cheap voice and text messages.

HEALTH RISK



The causes of primary brain tumours are unknown, so it is hard to identify specific risk factors

Thanks all for the replys. Glad to see so many of you agree with me. Susan her freind only lives down the road so she could phone her from our house phone but she never uses it lol. Lynette xx

Give her a couple of empty tin cans and a long piece of string. lol

Laddo isnt allowwed one til his 12th birthday which is when his sister had one even though all her friends had one before her.

I also dont pay for the top ups I pay a couple ofpound into her bank account each week plus she gets her pocket money and she has ppay for credit and if she wants to change her phone.

Laddo will lose his within days and wont have an idea on how to use it but he might surprise me.



Personal choice I think but to me 8 is too young they arent really going anywhere alone where they need one.

d x

Its not wholey necessary at that age really is it,?unless its used soley for emergencies while they are not within sight,,,,8 year olds now are so more techno minded,,,,and they only want the very latest ones!!

I think most children who do have one at this age or even younger.. ,its more down to the parent who maybe think its **cool** for their young to have a mobile,,

As some will know I come from a background in mobile phone cusomer services and lost count of the number of young customers who lost their phones or who had them stolen off them. Whilst pre-pay is one way of contolling costs a lot of parents take out a contract in their name then blame the mobile company concerned when little Billy or little Janet run up a whopping great bill. And no child of 9 needs a mobile phone.
Interestingly when I was in the industry we trialed a mobile phone especially for youngsters that would only call 2 designated numbers (ie parents and grandparents) the idea was in response to children claiming they needed them for safety purposes, strangely enough because they could only contact mum and dad in an emergency and not chat willy nilly to their mates the idea didnt take off.

I agree far too young.
catherine
xx

Hi Lynette couldn't agree more.
My two grand-daughters 11 and 7 have got them and I think its ridiculous.
My daughter says the 11 year old needs it for school ?
We never had phones and managed. Maybe I'm just being a grumpy old fossil but I don't understand it.

Lin x

Yes I agree Lynette,
My 10 and 7 year olds keep asking for a mobile phone because their friends have one but i think that they are both to young to have one.
Lisa

Am I cruel by telling 8 yr old daughter she is not allowed a mobile phone. I think she only wants 1 because her friend has one. Does anyone else agree that she is to young? Lynette