Kids and phones... deadly combo? (Photo credit: soopahgrover on Flickr)
Yesterday Healthy Child, Healthy World posted an article* about the dangers of cell phone use and radiation. I recommend you read it, but to save you time right now, here are a few of the key points:
- The bone marrow of a child’s head absorbs 10 times more radiation than an adult, while those of infants and toddlers will absorb even more.
- Every major well-designed study ever conducted has found that those who use cell phones regularly for half an hour a day or more for a decade have a doubled risk of brain cancer, and those who began using cell phones as teenagers have four to five times more disease, in less than 10 years.
- Most disconcerting are findings from the highly respected Prof. Nesrin Seyhan, the NATO-supported founding chairman of the Biophysics Department at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey, whose studies repeatedly show that prenatally exposed rats and rabbits have fewer brain cells.
I read this information with a pit in my stomach. Not because I let my children play with my phone (I do, of course), and not because I use my cell phone more than 30 minutes a day (I don’t hold it next to my head that long, but I use it, and often).
The pit was because I don’t know when to panic anymore. Everything is dangerous. Whatever you are eating/wearing/breathing/using to read this post is going to kill you. Have a nice day!
I could go with a “don’t worry, be happy” approach to health warnings. In some ways I do; in some ways, I just try to have a little faith.
But really?
Faith – in whatever it is you put your faith – does not translate to please sit on your rump, shoot radiation into your brain, eat trans-fats, guzzle a hormone-laced latte, and watch Jersey Shore, and do not worry, it will all be okay. Because you? You have faith!
No.
Whatever you believe, I still think we have to do our part. We have to be responsible, active participants in our lives. So tell me, when do I panic about all the things I’m doing to harm my children? Is it now? I’m starting to think it’s now.
Our entire world is wireless, internet enabled, and radiating rays of one kind or another. Food is fake, chemically altered, genetically modified. The sun, it’s so bright, that I gotta wear shades, SPF 4 bazillion, and long sleeved shirts.
Things look kind of like this at our house:
- We don’t let the kids chew on our phones or even play with them that often. But occasionally, yes. They use the computer now and then. Not every day, but a lot of days. And they watch TV. Every day. The Cell-Computer-TV Trifecta: part radiation, part brain-rotting entertainment.
- We’re careful about food at our house. Not iron-fisted, but careful. We buy organic, and shop locally when we can. We cook. We also eat out sometimes, and accept times when we have little control, like at birthday parties or on Christmas when none of it counts (right?). Sometimes – brace yourselves – we order pizza or Chinese food. Yep.
- Mark and I make efforts to apply SPF to all four of us every day, and always for prolonged outside time. But I do let the kids go outside without sunscreen now and then. They wear hats, and sometimes even agree to sunglasses. But there are times when the hats get tossed aside.
Should I do more, and if so, how much more?
There’s this voice I hear when I’m trying to excuse potentially dangerous decisions. The voice sounds kind of lazy, kind of cranky, and says, We’re all dying of something some time, so just roll with it. Have a cheetoh! That lab rat only died because they fed it exclusively cheetohs. You? You also drink coffee and eat hamburgers, so you’re good.
And this much is true: I have no desire to live to a ripe old age, requiring my kids to agonize over my long-term care, or heaven forbid, change my diapers. No way. I mean, as long as I have my mental faculties and can get around, then fine. But the minute I break a hip or start to think I’m Rue McClanahan, I’d like for someone to “accidentally” “trip” me and send me tush over teakettle down the stairs.
We are all dying, and there’s something to be said for punching the clock before you become infirm. I have no designs on cheating death. Immortality is uninteresting. Immortality sounds exhausting.
But I absolutely don’t want my loved ones – my babies – to die a painful, cancer-ridden death because I let them play Peekaboo Barn. So tell me, how will I ever know if I’m doing enough?
When – tell me, please – when do I panic?
*Even though this article inspired some serious concern, I still got a kick out of the title: Cell Phones, Radiation & Your Child’s Health (Giveaway!). At a cursory glance, it screams, Radiation is fun! So Fun That We’re Giving It Away!
Thanks for a giggle, even if I never laugh again because I’m so worried about fried brains.
I wonder…
:: How do you process the never-ending barrage of new reports screaming, The Latest Everyday Object/Food/Activity That Will Put You In The Grave!! Tonight at 5, 6, and 10!
Lapsed homemaker. Looking to hire a full-time housekeeper who will work for the sheer joy of a job well done and free coffee. Interested parties, DM please. 
Well I think we always live with a mild amount of panic. There will always be a love hate relationship with the every growing technology and science. Being in the healthcare field I know people including my husband and kids think Im crazy. I have rarely let my boys use a cell phone. It can be on speaker or they can hook up this cool old school phone handset I bought. But I will let them play on the computer for hours. I rarely let them on trampolines, but yet I let them go swimming and climb tall trees. I wont let them drink soda but I let Andrew have goldfish for breakfast? I know, I know it does not make sense. I really think our generation is doing a great job raising our children when we are constantly being bombarded with new data and statistics on what to do and what not to do.
Radiation, its bad and we are constantly being rained upon by it. Sunscreen Is not all created equal. My dermatologist told me and of course I was using the wrong one. Plus if you really want to be safe you need 2 layers. Yep so first apply sunscreen to your entire body then cover it with spf clothing. Organic food, isnt it odd that we have to pay extra to not have antibiotics, deadly chemicals and no pesticides in our food? So my answer is we are always in a constant state of panic. I guess the answer is to stay informed, everything in moderation. I think Im going to go with the Cub Scout moto…Do Your Best 🙂
Michelle! What a happy surprise to see your name pop up. We miss you!! I like the Cub Scout motto, too. Most days, that’s the best we can ask for.
we all definitely panic to some degree. i make it a rule to never watch the news in my home… all they want to do is panic you anyways. sometimes unnecessarily. my husband and i have recently switched to a Vegan diet due to a certain amount of panic, and limit our children’s meat and dairy intake. (because seriously, a kid without yogurt and occasional chicken nuggets just isn’t a kid) that’s the most extreme thing we’ve done lately… as far as radiation and sunscreen, well, i’m careful, but there’s only so far i’ll go. i don’t want to be the mom who says “time to turn the tv off, or the radiation will melt your brain”. it’s really up to each individual parent to decide what’s worth panicing over, because in the end there will be some new study in a year that completely contradicts the first study you heard about.
Isn’t that true? One day coffee is so good for you, the next it’ll kill you. Same with almost everything else. Moderation goes a long way (this is what I hope, anyway!).
I’d be interested to hear more about your switch to being a vegan. Has it been a hard transition?
This cell phone thing has always bugged me. It’s one of the reasons I’m one of the last peopel in the universe who hasn’t given up a landline. And it’s more evidence why NOT to give a teen a cell phone too early.
Yes, we can worry about everything. I try to worry, but not panic. You know?
Us, too! I love my landline and hate talking on my cell. I swear my ears hurt when I use it. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I err on the side of caution there.
Well you’re talking to the queen of worry warts.
Seriously.
But what helps me is the old adage that my Mom always says when some new thing comes out about kids…
“Hey, we played with the mercury from the thermometers and I’m still here.”
So yea. There’s that.
That actually makes me feel a ton better – tell your mom thank you! It’s true that pretty much anything can kill us (happy thought!), so we can’t sit around, freaking out. We have to live.
I am really skeptical by these claims only because I wonder if there is a reason behind the hype.
As with this, time will tell. Cell phones might be harmful, they might not. Cell phones run on radio waves and radio waves have yet to be connected to cancer, or at least directly, I mean we consistently are being hit by radiation waves which are far more destructive than radio waves (purely based on the wave length) to our bodies and we don’t see people dropping like flies from this constant barrage.
At the same time, there IS limited research regarding the threat to our health when it comes to new technology: preservatives, hormones, etc.
I don’t panic, there is too much to worry about to include that in my daily worry planner. 🙂
I like that perspective – we do have more than enough to worry about without adding the unknown!
The fixation of something new … as Moms we are always worrying about something and we easily feed into yet another thing! And my husband? Doesn’t bat an eyelid about any of it!
and the new digs and the new you and then all the new that is going to be over here – so many shades of awesome!
Thank you!!
And yes, my husband is – mostly – way more calm and relaxed than I am. Except that he makes me ALWAYS run the vent fan when I cook on the stove. The noise makes me nutty, but he is sure the carbon monoxide is going to kill us. 😉
I don’t have a whole lot to add here . . . except the famous George Carlin note that “swallowing small amount of saliva, over a period of time, has been known to cause cancer.”
Obviously, a “head in the sand” approach isn’t going to help here, but I also don’t think you can obsess about it. Modern kids are going to play with cell phones, and they’re going to want to play with cell phones the more they see the grown-ups playing with them.
You just have to teach them to not hold them to their heads too often, and not obsess about them.
And good luck trying that (my two love playing with one, though we, typically, put it on “airplane mode” when they have it)
Love that George Carlin quote. Something, some day is going to kill us. Period. Mostly I feel like a calm mom, but every once in a while I flip out. I need to pin up that quote where I can see it every day!
Thank you for this post! It really resonates with me.
In the information age we live in, it feels like too much information and often contradicting information has encouraged me to stick my head in the sand.
Where does a parent start? Organic food? Moving to a remote Amish community? Cutting off our electricity? Or, just continuing on with life as it is.
Guess I’m lazy, I’d rather just keep on keeping on. Eventually they’ll just reverse their recommendations, right?
I’m with you… when should we panic or even worry? I have no idea really.
Everything is bad for us in some way, shape, or form because tests with rats said so. And if we wait long enough the thing they thought was bad for us they’ll find isn’t all that bad after all.
That’s the truth! Sooner or later, all the news changes.
To address the specific cell phone issue, we’re a texting family. None of us spends much time (or any time, for that matter) talking on the phone.
However.
I know that’s a drop in the global bucket of what you’re addressing here. And for better or worse, I’ll tell you the truth:
I do not panic.
About anything really. I suppose this makes me a terrible mother but it’s the way I’ve was raised and it’s the person I will always be.
There are too many variables in life – to many unknowns. And so many tragedies are things we couldn’t have predicted or changed. So I don’t want to spend my time worrying about things that will NEVER happen while what is ACTUALLY happening is something I couldn’t have changed.
You know?
Anyway. We are a family of moderation. We are educated. We try to be sensible. And then….
We let go.
I know. It’s probably stupid. But.
Panicking is terrible for your blood pressure, right?
🙂
You know, the more I think about this, read the thoughtful comments, and consider how I want to spend my time, I’m 100% with you. No way are you a bad mother. There’s just a lot – a whole, whole lot – of info out there, and we can’t possibly take it all to heart. So we find a line, a place of moderation, and trudge ahead. It’s really the only option that won’t leave us paralyzed!
My first thought was, maybe texting isn’t so bad after all? Not trying to be trite. That’s just my cynicism shining through. 🙂
Really, I guess I just don’t worry too much about this stuff. There will always be something out there that might kill us off early and we just hope that it won’t. Not really much different than cave man times either, right?
We think we are so evolved, but when it comes down to it, we don’t know more, we just have more stuff to know about.
P.S. I like pizza and Chinese food too. Although, I have started making my own pizza because it’s way way cheaper.
I am right there with you Missy. I think we have become a society of panickers and over thinkers. I think it is great to know these things but in moderation. I’m a-okay with allowing my child a soda once in a blue moon. Ha.
My husband has been so wonderful to me as I dealt with that over the past several years. His point is always so valid: a hundred years ago, people didn’t panic about their kids being hurt very often. They didn’t pick up a phone and call the doctor every time their toddler fell and hit their head, or when a woman was going into labor. Sure, there were some serious issues back then, but nothing like you would think considering the lists and lists of things we should be terrified of. My parents even say that allergies and car seat drama, etc. were not issues when we were growing up, and we are all fine. I don’t know, I think ultimately, your mother’s intuition just kicks into over drive in panic situations and you do things you never knew were possible.