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Bedtime texting and internet use can damage a teenager's health...
Friday 5 November 2010
Categories: Health, Technology & the Internet, Teenagers
More than half of children and teenagers who text, or surf the Internet at bedtime are likely not only to have problems falling asleep, but experience mood, behaviour and cognitive problems during the day; concluded a pilot study conducted by a team from the JFK Medical Center, in Edison, New Jersey.
The lead author, Dr Peter G. Polos, commented, “The sooner parents establish appropriate times for children to use this technology, the better,” adding that perhaps they should also “move key items, such as computers, from a child’s bedroom into a common area”.
Click here to read the full article on MedicalNewsToday.com
This article also appears in Mark Steed’s blog An Independent Head.
We have a range of articles for parents who want to know more about online safety.
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My daughter is not allowed any technology in her bedroom except a radio alarm clock. However I can see this becoming an issue we need to talk through when she starts senior school next year as we have told her that she can have her own phone. I will need to make sure that she understands when it is appropriate to talk to her friends and when it is not. Some parents I know have given their chidlren sophisticated phones which connect to the internet and then don’t realise that they are in their room using Facebook without supervision. It is really important that we know what we are giving them access to.
I completely agree.My daughter has a laptop, however I do not let her take it into her room. She seems OK with this, however when it comes to her phone she just will not let go of it. I have not let her have internet acess on her phone as children are naive and sometimes dont know when they are doing something wrong.