在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

A child's first phone: a guide for parents

Updated: 2012-09-16 08:03

(The New York Times)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small

A child's first phone: a guide for parents

Wendy Sue Swanson, a pediatrician in Seattle, knows that a 9-month-old baby can perform basic acts of imitation. You might expect smiling, blinking and some other facial expressions and gestures.

"I ask parents if their child pretends to talk on a cellphone," Dr. Swanson said. "Almost all of them do."

Now, 9 months may be a little young, but parents at some point have to consider whether to give their children mobile phones.

Dr. Swanson suggested that there was consensus developing that the 11- to 13-year-old age range is an acceptable time to take this step. A survey showed that the majority of American children who have a cellphone get one by the time they turn 13.

But what kind of phone should you get, and what can you do to help manage its use?

It seems fairly ridiculous to equip your 11- or 12-year-old with a full-fledged smartphone. Its myriad capabilities, combined with a child's terrible judgment, are a recipe for headaches.

A child's first phone: a guide for parents

There are specialized providers of cellphones for children like Kajeet, which promise easy family controls. But the major wireless carriers also offer phones and services that basically do the same thing. You may want to consider getting your child a prepaid phone through the major carriers or prepaid-only companies like Virgin Mobile and Metro PCS.

Given their low prices, many prepaid handsets have limited capabilities, and with a prepaid voice and data plan, there's a built-in limit to how much your child can use the phone. Who knows? Maybe they'll even learn the value of budgeting.

Every carrier has a different combination of parental control features and services, but generally speaking, they all are trying to do the same few things: restrict access to inappropriate apps and sites, limit usage and offer location-tracking services. Expect to pay about $5 extra a month to use these services.

If your child is using a smartphone, there are controls you can enable on the device as well. Parents of iPhone users should check out the Restrictions menu in Settings.

Android devices don't have built-in parental controls, but that's easy to fix. Free apps like Android Parental Controls and apps from online security companies like Norton add filtering and blocking tools so you can limit what your young mobile user encounters with his phone.

However, no amount of settings and preferences on your child's phone can replace parenting. "Don't retreat once you've set it up," Dr. Swanson advised.

A child's first phone: a guide for parents

One thing to consider is a curfew for any cell or smartphone use. Add to that a prohibition against any screen time - smartphone, computer or tablet - before bed. "We know that looking at a screen before bedtime inhibits a healthy sleep pattern," Dr. Swanson said. "And we also know that getting a good night's sleep is directly related to attention spans and classroom performance."

Keeping screens away from children also means keeping things like mobile phones out of their rooms at night. Keep the recharging cord in the kitchen, not your child's bedroom. "If you don't believe a child should have a TV in his or her room, and many parents agree with that, then there shouldn't be a cellphone in there either," Dr. Swanson said.

If you think about how addicted grown men and women can be when it comes to their phones, consider how much more powerful that urge can be with a child or a teenager. Neurological studies have shown that children's and teenagers' brains are not developed enough to always exercise self-restraint.

As with any electronic device, the goal here is to establish a sense of balance. "We want these rich experiences on earth for our children," Dr. Swanson said. "And part of that comes from the amazing technology we have access to, and part of that is because we also turn it off."

The New York Times

(China Daily 09/16/2012 page11)

主站蜘蛛池模板: 一区二区在线免费观看 | 久久99精品久久久久久国产越南 | 久久综合一区二区 | 亚洲精品一二区 | 视频一二三区 | 国产suv精品一区二区6 | 国产精品一区二区三区四区 | 亚洲欧美国产一区二区 | 免费一区二区 | 四虎影院在线看 | 日韩欧美一区二区视频 | 黄色免费av网站 | 国产精品成人国产乱一区 | 欧美性猛交一区二区三区精品 | 国产精品美女久久久久aⅴ国产馆 | 99久久婷婷 | 欧美精品1区 | 日本一本高清 | 色噜噜狠狠色综合中国 | 久久综合狠狠综合久久综合88 | 国产美女在线免费 | 欧美成人在线免费 | 直接在线观看的三级网址 | 国产精品自产拍 | jizz国产免费 | 日韩一区二区三区av | 精品九九 | 成人国产精品视频 | 激情欧美日韩一区二区 | 欧美成人福利 | 成人h动漫免费观看网站 | 日本a视频| 亚洲视频1区 | 精品一级 | 亚洲社区在线观看 | 在线看片日韩 | 9久9久9久女女女九九九一九 | 99亚洲精品| 久久久久网站 | 欧美综合一区二区 | 日韩精品一区二区三区视频播放 |