We here at Help are pretty concerned about, and aware of, the many safety and environmental issues that our children face. In fact, sometimes we get overwhelmed with the sheer number of worries in our world these days! (Not like the good old ’80s when we grew up!)
So, when we got an email from Frank Clegg, the former president of Microsoft Canada, and current CEO of Canadians for Safe Techology (C4ST), talking about the risk of wireless radiation we took note!
Although we don’t feel qualified to speak to the research and the size of the threat – we feel C4ST does a good job of that here – we felt that this information was important to share. In particular, we wanted to highlight these top recommendations on how you can reduce the risk of exposure to wireless radiation for your family.
So, if you sometimes wonder what all these cell phones, wifi networks, and wireless devices in your home are doing to your kids brains…. take note. And take the advice below for these key radiation-emitting devices.
1. CELL PHONES:
a) Keep cell phones away from your head (use the speaker or airtube earbuds; not bluetooth) and out of your pocket, bras, or clothing.
b) Don’t sleep with an active cell phone near you. Use airplane mode only. It keeps the phone functions on, but blocks incoming/outgoing calls and text.
c) Children should not be near a connected cell phone or tablet device. Cell phones and tablets should not be used as toys. (We recognise this one will be hard!)
d) Forward your phone to your landline when at home.
2. CORDLESS PHONES: Remove all cordless phones. If you must have them, keep them away from high use areas and bedrooms and put them on a timer or turn them off every night. The base-station is the heaviest emitter of radiation, more than the hand-held phone.
3. WI-FI: Remove the Wi-Fi in your home. If you cannot remove it, turn it off when not in use, minimally put it on a timer or turn it off every night. Make sure it is not where someone is exposed all day, such as a bedroom or study.
4. BABY MONITORS: Never place a wireless baby monitor (video or audio) by your child’s bed. Use a wired monitor. Mothers, do not carry the monitor near your body.
5. SMART METERS: If possible, opt out of any smart meter installations for hydro or water. If not possible, try to have it placed away from bedrooms or other high use area, or consider the use of a protective screen.
While some of these recommendations feel onerous – no playing with iPads?! Yikes! – others are less so, and are good, safe practices that don’t take a lot of time, i.e. turning off your Wifi network at night. Do what you can to reduce your exposure, and more importantly, your children’s exposure.
