This may be the only comment you read on this subject today. That is because only a dinosaur who lived in that prehistoric time when children communicated by turning their heads to speak as they rode their bicycles finds this amazing. Perhaps amazing and dismayed too. My mother used to say, "now you listen to me, Robert". That got my attention, not some ringle, tingle chime from a plastic thing in my pocket. I had peace, too, as a child, as I wandered along the banks of the Connecticut River. No one could find me as I hid in my little stone wedge in its bank imagining armed boats floating down as I shot my wooden gun at them. Simple and naive,perhaps. It did provide space for me to develop my own self image and I was a happy child. I doubt seriously that having instant communication with my mother would have done anything for either of us. My imagination and my independence grew and I became my own person. I fear children tethered by this web of communication have no space to grow. What do you think?

Apparently he hasn't read the studies linking cell phone use with the increase in brain tumors!!!

I find it an irresponsible oversight to not even mention the health risks to children with cell phone use. Research by France Telecom -and there's much longer experience with cell phones in Europe than in the U.S. - found that adults using cell phones for only 30 minutes a day had 80% higher rates of brain tumors than non-users. They also found that twice as much radiation penetrates the skulls of children as adults. France has since banned cell phone advertising to children. Researchers in Sweden found the highest risk of brain tumors among people who started using cell phones during adolescence.The average teenage cell phone user in the U.S. spends three times the amount of time using their cell phones as the adults in the French study, or 90 minutes daily. Granted that to the extent this is texting rather than talking, the risk is diminished by virtue of the phone not being held next to their ear. But even 30 minutes a day of talking on a cell phone exposes them to far greater than an 80% increased risk of brain tumors due to their smaller heads, thinner skulls, and greater water and ion content in brain tissue that resonates more with radiofrequency waves from cell phones. And the worse the cell phone reception, the more radiation the phone emits to maintain the connection and the more risk of a brain tumor developing. This is borne out by additional research from the Environmental Working Group, which notes that "The fact that scientists have measured increased tumor risk in so many studies of cell phone users is even more powerful given that people have used cell phones widely for only about a decade, while cancer typically requires 15-20 years to develop". The skeptics who smugly refuse to moderate their convenience are simply choosing denial over evidence, which isn't yet definitive but is certainly suggestive of long-term harm. The same risk, by the way, applies to portable phones in the home. Using the speakerphone or a hollow (unwired tube) headset greatly reduces this risk, while strapping the cell phone to your hip or keeping it in your pocket transfers the cancer risk from the brain to the torso. Reduced sperm count in young males is only one of the documented consequences of this broad practice. So-called "happy meals" don't make kids happy; they make them fat,depressed, and vulnerable to diseases that used to occur only in adults. But they ARE convenient. Will our cell phone addiction be the next "convenience" that jeopardizes the health of future generations. Will we look back on this like we now look back on our cigarette addiction - and perhaps conclude we might as well be giving our kids a carton of cigarettes as a cell phone? The odds are pretty good we will. But who's got the guts to "Just say no" when "Everyone else is doing it"? Do you?

Thank you! Best, most informative comment I have ever read. You should publish this for wide distribution on the internet. Perhaps the Globe could use you as an op ed writer.

Johnster2 provides excellent cautionary advice for Xavier Watch. The health and anti-social factors are very important to consider.There is a web-site survey with the following statistics: "Nearly 40% of the 519 parents surveyed said they did, or will give, their child a cell phone between the ages of 13 and 15. Another 32% said their child got one during ages 10-12. Just over 10% got their child the first phone at 16 years or older, while just under 10% bought the first phone at age 7-9. Only 7.5% of the parents never plan to get their child a phone with less than a percentage point of kids under 7 getting their first phone." http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/09/15/kids-and-cellphones-at-what-age/

Bunko

I have a mixed reaction to this article. First, I believe we wrongly stifle the learning ability of children by forcing them into a regimented learning patter devised by adults. Children learn so much at an early age, they should be allowed the freedom and opportunity to continue this rapid learning pattern. On the other hand, the youth continually fail to grasp the dangerous aspects of their actions. Perhaps, instead of regimenting their learning we should emphasize the teaching of the dangers of unintended actions.

You'll have to do better than "Bunko", Myron. How about something of substance? Do you have anything substantive to add? Or would you rather just keep your head planted firmly in the sand?

I think that it all depends on the child. It depends on their maturity level. It depends on where they live. It depends on what they do. I got my first cell phone freshman year of high school because I traveled to New York almost every weekend by myself. None of my friends had cell phones, I just needed to keep my parents in the loop while I was on the train/bus/subway. I see a lot of kids in cities with cell phones that are only used for calls, like prepaid phones. And thats great because a lot of bad things happen in the city. I'm not saying that in the suburbs bad things don't happen, but I don't see the need for a 10 year old t have an iPhone. 10 year olds are not mature enough to take on the responsibility of a cell phone. When I was ten, I didn't know anything about anything and was so non-observent. As for Xavier, I know a 2 year old who plays on an iPad all the time. She knows how the iPad works and uses it daily. But she plays BABY games, like Mickey Mouses Road Rally, and Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm sure if her parents showed her how to use the internet, she would do it, but there is way to much stuff out there that is far beyond what she wold understand. I think Xavier should stick to things for his own age group.

I believe that kids should get their first cell phone when they're 12 like I did. I had a pre-paid phone that was only used for calling my mom and dad when I was out with friends. I didn't have texting on it until I was a sophomore in high school, because I didn't need to have texting on it. And I believe that kids who are five years old shouldn't have a cell phone. If they are with their friends then shouldn't an adult be with them? And if they needed to get in contact with me they can use the adults cell phone, or use a house phone. Kids who are five years old don't need a cell phone they should play with toys that are meant for their age.