*This is a guest post by Kelly. If you wish to write one, kindly email us your details.
There was once a time where mobile phones were solely meant for adults. Nowadays, however, children as young as four or five are being given their first mobile phones. Worse yet, some parents are even browsing through mobile phone comparisons, trying to decide whether or not their toddler should have a smartphone yet. A kid with unlimited access to the internet. Imagine that.
So, with more and more kids becoming owners of mobile phones at earlier ages, this leads to the problem of school disruptions. First is the jealousy factor, whereas some parents are still making their kids wait until they’re teenagers before granting them the big responsibility of a mobile phone. These kids oftentimes feel envious of their mobile phone-owning peers, which has led to fights and stealing in some classrooms.
Also at risk is the child’s developmental behaviour, because heavy usage of mobile phones by kids under the ages of seven and eight can spur hyperactivity and make them more easily distracted. These are two problems that affect the child for the rest of their school years and even beyond in some cases. Hyperactive kids have trouble paying attention to the teacher in class, don’t like focusing on homework if it’s not exciting and digitalized, and tend to show lower levels of critical thinking when compared to their phone-less peers. It’s even more damaging when kids bring their mobile phones to school and use them there.
Schools have began implementing stringent rules against mobile phone usage during normal school time hours, but kids being kids, they usually find loopholes in the rules. They text behind books they’re supposed to be reading. They surf the web under their desks. They make calls to friends during lunchtime. Teachers are supposed to take away the mobile phone when the child is caught using it, but sometimes kids are so sneaky that the teachers simply never notice it. Mobile phone comparisons will tell you that these are the ultimate distractions for children, particularly in an environment- school- which they’re not overly fond of.
Cheating is also a major problem for the older kids. Once the tests get harder and the average number of mobile phone owners in a classroom rises, there is a higher propensity for cheaters using their devices to get answers to difficult questions. With soundless texting on touch screen phones and the unlimited internet access on smartphones, getting an answer is not terribly difficult if they’re good at concealing their mobile phones.
So, when browsing through mobile phone comparisons for your child, try to keep all of these issues in mind when making the purchase. There seem to be more risks than benefits to kids owning a mobile phone, so if they simply must have one, consider getting them a regular mobile phone with limited texting and no internet until they’re older.
Kelly writes about mobile phone technology for Mobile Phone Finder, providing you with the best mobile phone services online.
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