Kids and Cell Phone

Safety
INFORMATION AND PREVENTION

August 2009
 Training Objectives
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.
 Identifysafety tips associated with cell
phone usage.
Recognize discussion tips parents
should use with their children
regarding cell phone usage.
 Cell Phones and Kids
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.
 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
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.
 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.
 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.
 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 childs 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
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.
 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 childs 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.
 Ifa 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.
 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?
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.
 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.
 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
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 wouldnt 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
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.
 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.
 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.
 Parents should talk to their children
about using caution when they give
their phone number to others. Parents
should advise their children not to
publish their cell phone number on the
internet.
Children should be taught not to
answer their phone or text messages,
when they do not recognize phone
numbers. Parents will need to explain
to their children how to block unwanted
numbers.
 Parents should also make sure their
children know cell phone etiquette. For
example, many hospitals, movie
theatres and restaurants ask for cell
phones to be turned off. Children
should respect these rules. Most
schools also have rules as to cell
phone usage.
Some parents suggest having children
hand over their cell phone, when they
come home from school. They can use
the phone at home to talk to friends.
 The National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC), also has
tips for parents to follow. One such tip
is the monitoring of the cell phone bill.
This can be used to keep track of the
amount of time children spend talking
and sending messages, and with
whom. Parents should give special
attention to numbers they do not
recognize or have not approved.
 Parents should teach their children to
tell them if anyone sends them a
threatening or frightening message. If
children are being stalked, harassed, or
threatened in any way, the incident
should be reported to the service
provider and local law enforcement. If
the material is obscene, lewd or illegal,
it should be reported to the
Cybertipline at 1-800-843-5678 or
www.cybertipline.com.
 Parents should consider creating
settings to control or prohibit access to
the Internet, email and text messaging
through a childs wireless device. A
GPS (global-positioning system) option
may be offered by a service provider.
This could help locate children, if they
are missing.
Tips for Parents to Discuss with
Children
According to NCMEC, the following are
discussion points parents or guardians
should have with their children:
Children and teens should never share
their wireless number and personal or
identifying information with anyone
they do not know well. Likewise,
friends numbers should not be given
out.
Cell phones and other wireless
devices should never be used to take,
send or post pictures or videos of
friends without permission from their
parents or guardians. Taking or
sharing an embarrassing picture of
someone is a form of harassment and
cyberbullying. Once an image has
been sent, it can never be retrieved.
Children and teens should keep their
passwords private. They should never
be shared with anyone other than
parents or guardians.
Photos of children and teens should
never be given to anyone they do not
know well and do not trust. Sexually
provocative pictures or messages
should never be sent.
Parents should remind children that
text messages may be intercepted or
used by others. Appropriate language
should be used, while also not
revealing personal information.
 For More Information
The National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children,
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkid
s/servlet/NewsEventServlet?
LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=3242

http://ncmec.vo.llnwd.net/o15/download
s/special/Sexting_Prevention.pdf
 Scholastic.com,
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/sea
rch?
query=cell+phone+safety&x=32&y=12
CNN.com,
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/0
8/11/cellphones.kids/index.html
National School Safety and Security
Services,
http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/ce
ll_phones.html
Missouri Department of Social Services
State Technical Assistance Team
Address:
PO Box 208
Jefferson City, MO
65102-0208
Telephone:
(573) 751-5980
(800) 487-1626
(8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST,
Monday Friday)
Email:
dls.stat@dss.mo.gov