Kids as young as 9 have mobile phones as parents seek safety

Melbourne, Apr 6 (ANI): While parents worry over the link between cell-phone and cancer, mobiles are making their way into the hands of kids as young as nine, according to a study.

The prevalence of mobiles among kids came to the fore at the time when the independence of Australia's peak mobile phone research group was being questioned.

The group, known as the Australian Centre for RF Bioeffects Research, had earlier denied links between brain cancer and phone use.

The new study, carried out by the Commission For Children And Young People and the University of Sydney, enrolled 1500 children aged between 11 and 15.

It found that there was no chance that the 5-year-olds had been given a phone when aged nine.

However, 11-year-olds interviewed had a 10 per cent chance of owning a phone at the age of nine.

Children's commissioner Gillian Calvert said that while the results are now almost two years old, its is believed that the figure would be much more higher today, as mobile phones are finding their way into more younger hands.

However, the trend is positive in her eyes.

"The study spotlights the secret world of mobile phones and we've found that kids are doing what they always did, be kids," the Daily Teelgraph quoted her as saying.

She added: "The message I got from the study is they help kids do what they have always done: Listen to music, reinforce their friendships and organise their lives. They are playing a very central and positive role in young people's lives." (ANI)