kid sand cellphone

Kids and Cell Phone
Safety
INFORMATION AND PREVENTION

August 2009


Training Objectives
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Identify what things parents should consider before
buying their child a cell phone.
Identify risks associated with cell phone usage.
Define Sexting and the risks associated with it.
Recognize tips to prevent Sexting.


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Identify safety tips associated with cell phone usage.
Recognize discussion tips parents should use with
their children regarding cell phone usage.


Cell Phones and Kids
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Many pre-teens and teens have access to cell
phones. Parents often buy their children cell phones
for safety reasons.
Cell phones do offer convenience and a sense of
security for parents.
One such convenience is that parents can be alerted
as to when they need to pick up their children from
school events. Children can let parents know if the
event is running behind or if they need to be picked
up early.


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While there are advantages to children having cell
phones, there are also disadvantages.
The choice to buy a child a cell phone is a very
personal issue for parents.
The pros and cons of cell phone usage need to both
be weighed before parents decide to supply a cell
phone to their child.

Cell Phone Considerations
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Before a parent buys their child a cell phone, there
are many issues to consider. According to a recent
article from CNN.com, one of these issues is cost.
Many teens and pre-teens have damaged their cell
phones, resulting in parents having to buy a second
one. Other kids have excessively sent text
messages, resulting in a cell phone bill that totals
hundreds of dollars.


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While parents want to know their children are safe in
an emergency, hundreds of children on cell phones
during an emergency can actually create problems
for responders by overloading cell phone systems.
Some kids have also gotten in trouble with their cell
phones at school. Cell phones have been used to
cheat, to spread rumors and to send inappropriate
photos and videos at school.


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According to National School Safety and Security
Services, cell phones can detract from school safety

and crisis preparedness in the following ways:
▪Cell phones have been used to call in bomb threats
to schools. In many communities, these calls can
not be traced by public safety officials.
▪Student use of cell phones could actually detonate a
real bomb, if there was one on campus.


▪Cell phones systems typically overload
during a major crisis (as they did during
the Columbine school shooting and the
attacks on 9-11). Usage by a large
number of students at once could add to
the overload and knock out cell phone
systems quicker than could normally
occur. Since cell phones are used as a
backup communications tool for school
administrators and crisis teams,
widespread student use in a crisis could
eliminate crisis team emergency
communication tools in a very short
period of critical time.


▪Cell phone use by students can hamper rumor
control and can disrupt and delay effective public
safety personnel response.
▪Students using cell phones can impede public safety
response by accelerating parental response to an
emergency scene. A large number of parents may be

showing up, when officials are trying to evacuate
students to another site.


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Cell phones can also be used by sexual predators to
groom a victim.
Many studies have been released pointing out that
cell phones may have an effect on developing brains.
A child’s responsibility and maturity level also needs
to be considered when parents are thinking of
buying their child a cell phone.
(Wilson, Jacque. What to know before buying your
kid a cell phone. CNN.com, August 11, 2008)


Risks of Cell Phones
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While parents may think of cell phones as a safety
tool, there are many risks to having one for kids.
One such risk is unwanted attention or
communication. According to an article by
Scholastic News Online, while texting can be a great

way to stay in touch with friends, it can also be used
by bullies.


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Cyberbullying happens both on the internet, and
through the use of cell phones. It involves children
or adults sending threatening, rude or mean texts to
another child’s cell phone. These texts may be sent
directly to the victim or friends of the victim. If this
happens, children should save the text and share it
with their parents or another trusted adult.
Forwarding the message or replying to it often traps
a child into being a cyberbully themselves.


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If a child receives a call, text or picture from
someone they do not know, they should report it and
not reply. Sexual predators use cell phones to entice
children. Parents should teach their children never
to meet someone in person, who they have met over
the phone. Spammers and scam artists also use cell
phones to deceive children.


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Children who walk and talk on their cell phones are
putting themselves in a dangerous situation. If they
are on their cell phone while crossing the street and
not paying attention, they are at risk for injury or
death.
Likewise, teen drivers should not be calling on their
cell phones or using them to text while driving. This
has proven to be a dangerous situation that has
resulted in the death of teens and their passengers.


What is Sexting?
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Sending pictures from a cell phone may
seem like fun, but it can have long-lasting
ramifications.
A picture sent from a cell phone can easily be
forwarded to hundreds of cell phones. It can
also be easily downloaded on to the Internet
and passed on.
These pictures can easily find their way on
social networking sites, such as MySpace
and Facebook.

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Once a picture is sent, it can not be taken back.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unwanted Pregnancy says one in five teenage girls
between the ages of 13 and 16 years old say they
have electronically sent or posted online, semi-nude
or nude photos of themselves. It has also shown
that 21 percent of teenage girls and 18 percent of
teenage boys have sent images of themselves.


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Sexting involves the sending of a sexual message
and/or revealing photos to another person. Many
girls have sent nude photos of themselves to their
boyfriends. When they break up, the boyfriend has
sent the picture to kids at school. In some extreme
cases, girls have committed suicide in these
situations. In other cases, prosecutors have begun
charging teens who send and receive such images
with child pornography and other serious felonies.


Tips to Prevent Sexting
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The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC), Netsmartz offers the following
tips to children and teens about sexting:
▪Kids should think about the consequences before
taking, sending or forwarding a sexual picture of
someone underage, even if it is a picture of
themselves.


▪Consequences can include getting kicked off sports
teams, facing humiliation, the loss of educational
opportunities and getting in trouble with the law.
▪Kids should never take images of themselves they
wouldn’t want everyone (their family, classmates,
teachers, or employers) to see.


▪Before hitting send, kids should remember
they can not control where the picture may
travel. What is sent to a boyfriend or
girlfriend could easily end up with their
friends, and their friends, and more and
more people.
▪Anyone who forwards a sexual picture of
someone underage is as responsible for
the image as the original sender. There
could be possible child pornography
charges, and the sender could go to jail.
They would also have to register as a sex

offender.


▪Kids should report any nude pictures they receive on
their cell phone to a trusted adult. The message
should not be deleted. Instead, parents, guardians,
teachers, and school counselors should be involved
immediately.


Cell Phone Safety Tips
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There are many things parents can teach their
children to keep them safe while using cell phones.
While cell phones have proven to be useful, there are
also safeguards that need to be put in place for the
children and teens who use them.


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Scholastic has developed a number of tips
for parents to follow regarding cell phone
safety. One such tip is for parents to teach
their child how to use their phone by
pointing out features like the key lock, how
to put the phone on silent and setting the

alarm. Phones should be programmed with
parents’ contact information and emergency
numbers. For extra security parents may
consider buying a phone made specifically
for kids. A few of these phones feature a
GPS tracker and built in 9-1-1 button.


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Parents should limit the usage their children have.
They can designate time slots for talking, such as
after homework is done. Parents should also check
in to see if their children are up late, because they
are using their cell phone.
Responsibility has to be taught and children should
understand a cell phone is not a toy. This may be a
good time for children to learn about budgeting, as
there are many fees associated with a cell phone.