Are Electronics Bad For Kids? Some Consequences You Might Not Have Thought About

Are Electronics Bad For Kids? Some Consequences You Might Not Have Thought About

Posted on July 5, 2013

There is a great deal of concern among parents about the role of screen time in the lives of young children. However, not as much thought is given to the question of are electronics bad for kids from a biological perspective – right from the time they’re born and even before. In an article entitled “Your [Dangerously] Wired Child,” which appears in Natural Child Magazine’s July/August 2013 issue, we examine some of those effects. And yes, they are harmful.

One of the problems that electronic devices contribute to in our homes is what’s called “electronic smog” – an invisible cloud of electromagnetic radiation that the World Health Organization (WHO) calls “one of the most common and fastest growing environmental influences.”

The electrical wiring, computers, and any alternating current (AC) electrical appliances in our homes and commercial buildings create electromagnetic fields (EMF) – one component of the “smog.” The fields rapidly decrease with distance but appliances such as hair dryers and electric shavers, used close to the head, can give high exposures. Electric blankets and clock radios sitting beside beds produce even higher doses because people are exposed to them for many hours while sleeping. Those high tension wires that carry electricity through many neighborhoods are also culprits.

Radio frequency (RF) fields – yet another component of the “smog” – are emitted by microwave ovens, TV and radio transmitters, mobile phone masts, and cell phones themselves, as well as by wireless “smart meters” that are being installed in many houses, and by those wireless baby monitors that supposedly give new parents such peace of mind. Among other helpful hints for safely using electronics, our article includes some advice about which kinds of baby monitors are safest, and how to use them in ways that minimize the danger to your baby. We also look at the dangers to fetuses.

The idea of this dangerous “smog” used to be derided by many people. But many governments, researchers, and medical associations are now taking it seriously as a potential health danger. The WHO says that the smog could interfere with the tiny natural electrical currents that help to drive the human body. Researchers have begun to correlate RF exposure with diseases such as cancer, neurological disease, reproductive disorders, immune dysfunction, and electromagnetic hypersensitivity. As they are with other potential health hazards, children are at greater risk than adults. One study found that a child’s growing body can absorb up to ten times more radiation than an adult’s body.

Another health issue from electronic equipment is exposure to flame retardant chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Researchers have found evidence of behavioral and cognition issues related to children’s exposure to the chemical. We’ve written about PBDEs in the past in Natural Child Magazine, but there’s an update in the July/August issue in an article entitled “Baby Steps to a Greener, Healthier Home.” We quote researchers at the University of Cincinnati who say that small children should not even touch electronic items such as TVs, mobile phones, computers, and other products. And if they, parents should be sure to wash their little ones’ hands after contact. An additional problem is that PBDEs end up in household dust and children are further exposed by crawling on the floor and putting their hands in their mouths.

http://naturalchildmagazine.com/blog/2013/07/are-electronics-bad-for-kids/