Chapter 7

Wireless Kids

Today’s child is exposed to more wireless radiation than ever. In fact, selling wireless devices for children has become a lucrative industry, and there are now wireless devices of almost every imaginable description. They include:

• wireless baby monitors
• mobile-phone apps for babies
• mobile phones and apps for kids
• tablets for kids
• iPotties
• interactive dolls
• GPS tracker devices
• even smart pyjamas!

How much time children spend on their mobile phones alone is hard to say — it seems to be growing every year. Many babies are now using wireless devices for up to an hour a day before they can walk or talk. Teenagers aged 15 to 19 spend at least three hours each day on social media. By the age of 16, teenagers can be using a mobile phone for approximately six-and-a-half hours a day. And approximately a quarter of teenagers are online ‘almost constantly’.

Because the current generation is the first to be exposed to so much wireless radiation from so many sources and for such long periods of time, we simply don’t know what the long-term effects will be on their health or wellbeing. However, we can assume that children are much more at risk from wireless radiation than adults, for many reasons:

• they have thinner skulls and so they absorb more radiation than adults
• their bone marrow absorbs about ten times more radiation than an adult’s bone marrow
• as they grow, their cells are dividing, and this phase (mitosis) is particularly vulnerable to radiation
• their smaller heads resonate with the frequencies of wireless radiation
• their brains are still growing and maturing
• they have a potential lifetime of exposure
• they do not have the knowledge or skills to make informed judgements about using wireless technology.

Because of this vulnerability, many authorities in many parts of the globe have recommended precautions to reduce children’s exposure to radiation.

And for good reason.

Although we don’t know the health effects of long-term exposure to wireless radiation, there are already some worrying signs.

Hyperactivity

We’ve already seen that young animals exposed to mobile phone and wireless radiation before birth had hyperactive and ADHD-like behaviours. We’ve also seen that children exposed to their mother’s mobile-phone radiation before and after birth developed ADHD-like behavioural problems.

So it’s no surprise that ADHD-like symptoms have been found in children who use mobile phones. Researchers studied a group of nearly 2,500 children in South Korea. They found that those who made more mobile-phone calls and were also exposed to lead had more chance of developing ADHD symptoms. They also found that children who spent more time playing games on their mobiles had higher rates of ADHD symptoms, irrespective of whether or not they were exposed to lead.

Headaches

One of the symptoms that’s often reported by adult mobile-phone users is headaches. And children who use mobile and cordless phones are reporting them now as well.

Sleep problems and fatigue

Adequate good-quality sleep is important for health and performance, yet children’s use of wireless technology is also often linked to sleep problems and fatigue. This is because children often stay up late at night using wireless devices and are often woken during the night by incoming messages. Some even sleep with their phones under their pillows.

Brain tumours

The big concern is whether children who use mobile phones might be more at risk of the brain tumours that have been found among adults who are heavy and long-term mobile-phone users.

Australian brain surgeon Dr Charlie Teo believes this is the case. He told 60 Minutes that he was worried about the number of children he was seeing with malignant brain tumours as early as 2009.

In his studies on brain tumours and mobile-phone use, Professor Lennart Hardell has also found higher risks among young people who began using mobile and cordless phones before the age of 20.

Autism

It’s also been suggested there could be a link between electromagnetic radiation and autism.

Mental health

Children who spend long periods of time using wireless technology may have increased risks of psychological problems, including depression, as you’ll see in the following chapter.

Other problems

A number of other problems have been linked to children’s use of screen-based technologies, whether or not they emit wireless radiation. However, because children’s screen activities often involve wireless devices these days (whether a tablet or a smart TV), it’s relevant to add such problems to our discussion. They include:

• vision problems
• appetite problems and obesity
• reduced levels of the hormone melatonin, leading to sleep and other problems
• cardiovascular disease and blood-pressure problems
• diabetes
• reduced fitness
• attention-deficit behaviours.

Apart from the health effects of children’s use of wireless technologies, there are some worrying social problems. Online bullying is a major problem that’s been widely reported. Suffice to say that wireless devices add a whole new dimension to the age-old problem of bullying, making it easier than ever. Now bullies can send unpleasant messages at the mere push of a button without the need to even be in the physical presence of their victims.

On top of all these potential risks, there’s the problem of addiction. Today’s children have become dependent on their wireless devices to the extent that they demonstrate withdrawal symptoms without them. Children as young as four have become so addicted that their parents are enrolling them in technology-addiction programs.

Despite all these problems, wireless devices play an important role in kids’ education … don’t they? More on that in the next chapter.

Something to think about

The German telecommunications regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, has banned the sale of the Cayla doll, a smart doll that can answer children’s questions and play games with them using smart devices. The agency warns that smart toys with cameras or microphones that use insecure Bluetooth connections can transmit pictures and voice messages to and from children, potentially violating their privacy. Similarly, they could conceivably transmit sales pitches and other messages directly to children.

SUGGESTION

How many wireless devices do your children have?

Why don’t you keep a record of how much time your child spends on wireless devices, with the wireless turned on, one day this week?

Risk and precaution

LEAST WISE

• Locating radiation-emitting devices — such a baby monitor or mobile phone — close to a sleeping baby.
• Allowing the baby to play with your mobile phone or tablet as often as he or she wants to.

WISE

• Keep all wireless devices out of children’s bedrooms at night.
• Don’t allow children to use a cordless phone.
• Don’t give a baby or toddler a mobile phone as a pacifier or toy.
• Don’t put a wireless baby monitor in the baby’s room.
• Don’t give him or her a toy mobile phone or other wireless device — this sets up the expectation that it’s OK to use these devices, and helps develop addictive behaviours.
• Don’t use a mobile or cordless phone when you’re breastfeeding or nursing your baby.
• Don’t buy unnecessary radiating devices that are aimed at babies and children.
• Likewise, keep cots and beds away from wireless devices.
• Make sure there’s a corded phone in the home so children don’t need to use a mobile or cordless phone.
• Make sure children don’t spend unnecessary time on wireless devices — for example, playing games.
• Use wired (not wireless) computers at home, including for homework.
• Turn the tablet onto airplane mode when your child is using it, and don’t let your child use the tablet while it is downloading games or programs.
• If children must use a mobile phone, buy one that has the least functions and teach them safe use (see Chapter 3).

WISEST

• Keep wireless devices out of children’s bedrooms.
• Make sure there are no wireless devices situated near children’s bedrooms.
• Ideally, make sure there are no wireless devices in the home.

Other tips

• Avoid the risks of internet addiction by limiting children’s use of wireless internet devices.
• Balance screen time with time spent in nature.

• Encourage the reading of books:

  • read to your child
  • provide an abundance of rich and varied reading material (libraries are a great source)
  • set aside times for reading (such as just before sleep)
  • read and discuss books with your child.
• Provide opportunities for your child to engage with other people socially, to develop interpersonal skills.