Sometimes ago, I was seated in the church near a woman with a two-year-old boy. There was a mild war going on between the mother and child as the church ceremonies were on. The little boy wanted the mother to relinquish her mobile phone so he could play games and make calls on it. After much struggle, the mother reluctantly handed the boy the phone in a switched-off mode. The moment the boy realized the phone was switched off, he began to yell uncontrollably. The mother took the boy out of the church and gave him the phone switched on. After a few minutes they reappeared. Not long after, the boy pounced the phone on the floor and held the mother to change the game because he was tired of it. That started another round of struggle between the two. It was intense. The frustrated mother left the boy yelling every now and then. I witnessed a similar incident while on a flight to Enugu.
In this scenario, the mother eventually gave up and handed the boy the phone switched on in defiance to air traffic regulations. When we landed, I confronted the woman and asked her why she succumbed to her lad’s demand. She told me with resignation, “So I can rest, his wahala is too much.” Some weeks ago, my cousin lost the sum of N250,000 to swindlers. Reason being that her 15-year-old son used her phone to access her bank account. The money was sent to fraudsters who via text message publicised a promo promising the young boy N1,000,000 if he sends a certain amount of money. The boy kept sending all the available money he could get until there was nothing left. When the mother confronted him with missing money, he pleaded guilty and said he was hoping to get the N1000,000 to help her start a business for the family. If your child is asking for a mobile phone, it is not surprising. The use of mobile phones by children is booming. The manufacturers of mobile phone know that our population is full of young people, who were born in the thick and thin of mobile technology. As a parent, you may see benefits in terms of safety and the ability to monitor your child if they have a mobile phone.
On the other hand, you might have concerns about the health effects and the costs involved. You may also be worried about who your child talks to on their phone. When trying to weigh up the risks and benefits of a child having a mobile phone, parents can sometimes be uncertain about the best course of action. One mother told me that she used to lay an ambush on her 13-year-old son at night. Frequently, she has caught the boy fiddling with her mobile phone (instead of studying). Many children use their mothers’ phones more regularly than their father’s and from there begin to download all sorts of things on it. Since the advent of mobile phone technology in Nigeria in August 2001, the lifestyle in many of our homes has not been the same. It has derailed relationships between spouses, separated children from their parents, increased absent mindedness or virtual presence and caused many avoidable road accidents. Above all, it has harnessed and increased addiction. It may shock you to know that mobile phones are originally designed to be addictive and unless one disciplines oneself and children, the addiction can become chronic or deadly.
Also ,mobile phone is a leading cause of high blood pressure in many adults because an average person touches his or her mobile phone more than 1000 times a day. At what age would you consider giving your child a mobile phone and what kind: Smart or feature phone? And if they ask for it at say when they are five to eight years old, will you buy it? I have seen many parents buy phones and tablets for their two year olds so that they can play games with it. Many of our parents are even the ones provoking the wrong use of the phone on their children. There is a father I know who handed his 14 years old son a smart phone worth over N30,000 so that they can chat on social media! If your child must have a mobile phone before entering the tertiary education, why not get him or her a feature phone? Some children steal their parents’ money to buy smart phones and hide them. They only use the phone when their parents are not available. I know that circumstances vary but there are several risks associated with children using mobile phones: Health: Youngsters may be more vulnerable to radio frequency radiation because of their developing nervous system and because they will have a longer lifetime of exposure than their parents. This suggests that it is sensible for parents to set limits on the amount of time that their young children spend on a mobile phone.
Increased addiction: A recent market research study reports that the phone industry is actively seeking ways to increase mobile phone use in children and teenagers. Your child is their target so do not pretend as if it doesn’t concern you. Wrong motives: Children and adolescents want phones for more than just keeping in touch with their parents. It can be a status symbol, a toy, a communication medium for their social network, a fashion icon or a way to express their individuality. Market research tells us that only 10-15% of SMS use is by adults. TV programs, youth magazines, and youth oriented advertising encourage children to use text messages for things like entering competitions and voting on popular issues. If you are thinking about letting your child have a mobile phone, weigh up the pros and cons before you make a decision. If you decide that it is okay for your child to own their own phone or use one belonging to another member of the family, be sure you have a strategy to teach (how to cope with consumer pressure), protect (from health hazards and financial cost) and monitor his or her use of the device at intervals. There are many predators all over the place targeting children.
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