Kids and Cell Phone Safety

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Kids and Cell Phone Safety

• INFORMATION AND PREVENTION

August 2009
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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• ?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.

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• ?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 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)

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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.

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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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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• ?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.

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• ?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.

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• ?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.

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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.

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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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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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.

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• ?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.

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• ?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.

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• ?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.

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For More Information

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited
  Children, http//www.missingkids.com/missingkids/s
  ervlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountryen_USPage
  Id3242
• http//ncmec.vo.llnwd.net/o15/downloads/special
  /Sexting_Prevention.pdf

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• Scholastic.com, http//www2.scholastic.com/browse/
  search?querycellphonesafetyx32y12
• CNN.com, http//www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/11/
  cellphones.kids/index.html
• National School Safety and Security Services,
  http//www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/cell_phones.h
  tml

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Missouri Department of Social Services State
Technical Assistance Team

• Address
• PO Box 208Jefferson City, MO 65102-0208
• Telephone [phone](800) 487-1626(8 a.m.
  to 5 p.m. CST, Monday Friday)
• Email
•  dls.stat_at_dss.mo.gov