There should be more action and not just talk about mobile phone safety in regards to children. The Talk largely focuses on the distraction caused to adults while driving. It is true of course; it IS a major distraction.

But now there is another reason to be concerned. Cellular phones in Europe have been linked to harassment and sexual exploitation of both children and adults.

If you're a parent, you should talk with your children about how to protect themselves from exploitation, bullying and invasion of their privacy; as well as a massive phone bill. Talk to your children so they KNOW the realities.

In the U.S.A. it is estimated that 1/3rd kids age 10 to 18 already have their own cell phones. This number is expected to grow to well over 2/3rds by 2010 and that could be an understatement. Cell phones are also extremely popular among teenagers and younger kids in Europe. The majority of the U.K.'s 7-to-16-year-olds already have cell phones.

On the up side - a cell phone can be a great communication and safety tool for kids and adults too. Children can check in with parents, respond to a parents call and call for help in an emergency. It also gives them NO excuse for not being in touch provided you have a schedule to have them fully charged every night and it is best to get them a portable charger so they can call by plugging into any car plug-in; even if the battery is dead. If you can afford it, I highly recommend you demand your teenager carry a cell phone at all times.

On the down side - when a child has a cell phone, they basicly have access to the whole world and (the scarier part) the world has access to them; including when they're away from home and not under healthy adult supervision. Because cell phones today are usually equipped with web-browsers, email, text messaging, IM, and even a camera and video capabilities! Until 2004, most problems were apparently related to text messaging but this is fast changing. They can do basicly anything on their phone they can do from their PC (or your PC).

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"The Japanese Cabinet Office surveyed teen use of mobile phones and found that 30 percent of the females and 37 percent of males under 20 had accessed "dating sites," which, in some cases, have led girls and women into unwanted sexual encounters with men who expected more than just a "date." --end quote.

A built-in camera means that your child can see inappropriate material and also send it as well. AT the push of a button, a childs image, phone number and mobile e-mail address can easily be sent to the wrong person. It's even possible to use cell phones to instantly post photos on the Internet for instant public display -- and that is a really scary thing.

Predators can now send kids messages, send them photos, video, arrange secret meetings...

And of course kids use the phone while they're away from home,; making them particularly vulnerable because they are out of parental safety. Apparently, statistics tell us it has become a common practice in Europe for predators to "groom a child" on the Internet before contacting the child via cell phone to arrange a physical meeting.

So - unless you have a Tracfone or a phone with no contract (where you can give faske I.D. information) the users of a cell phones are by NO means anonymous. Although it can be disabled, most cell phones have caller ID on by default.

This means that when you call or send a text message to someone, you are giving that person your phone number, which he or she can use to do many things; send email, text, phone the cell directly, etc....

I don't personally know anyone who has tried this but it looks very promising.

http://www.guardianangeltech.com/

I am quoting below from their website. I can only hopoe (and pray) that their adevertising is true and this product is as good as they claim!

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"Knowing your child's or teenager's current location can be as simple as checking it on the computer.

Kids and teenagers want a cool cell phone. Parents want to know where their kids are without the constant "check-in" calls. Now Parents and kids can have the best of both worlds with Guardian Angel Technology's remote tracking cell phones.

It is never easy for parents to keep track of their children's whereabouts but with our new monitoring cell phone for kids, we can help make parents' job easier. The stress and panic associated with losing a small child or teenager can be tremendous, so Guardian Angel developed the Guardian Angel Tracking System to help alleviate those fears.

Guardian Angel Technology proudly present its state-of-the-art Monitoring System. By utilizing our advanced technology, we are able to help parents monitor, track and locate children or teenagers in real time via a map on the Internet. Our child safety monitoring software is not limited by distance (All of North America and parts of Mexico) and takes no technical knowledge to use.

Just give the cell phone to your child. Log in to our secure web site to see the exact location the child is currently at. If the child changes location, you will be able to track and see the movements on the map. If the child is in or driving a car, you will be able to see the travel speed along with the direction of travel. It is that simple. "

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Might want to check it out - and NO - I am not affiliated with this company in ANY way, shape or form. And as with any new technology, there is ALWAYS,m in the end, a way for the *bad guys* to use it for their own purposes it seems to me...

Keep Safe!