Children Using Wireless Games and Ereaders

Chiildren love their electronic games. Favorites include Nintendo DS, Playstation, PSP, XBox, Wii etc.  But parents should be aware that when kids use wireless electronic controllers, their bodies absorb radiofrequency radiation. These devices were not tested for health and safety reasons prior to their release into the marketplace. Although there is no research concerning wireless games, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in 2005 that children are especially sensitive to all electromagnetic fields because their developing nervous systems are fragile, their brain tissues more conductive, and their smaller skeletons more easily penetrated by the waves. Parents should error on the side of caution. We don’t know the long-term health consequences of increasing our children’s exposure to the information carrying radio waves that these products use. We can't control the amount of radiation we are exposed too when we are in our communities, but we can control it in our homes.

Recommendations to Reduce Your Child’s Exposure to Radiation from Wireless Games and Ereaders

Replace the wireless controller of video games with a wired controller.  There is usually no wireless radiation emitted when a wired controller is used.

Use devices like the Nintendo DS or 3DS in airplane mode.

Require your child to use a pillow or other divider between his/her body and a Nintendo DS or similar devise. You want distance between your body and the devise, especially the child’s lap.

Do not play these games with a child on your lap.

Keep babies and toddlers away from these games at all times.

Hold an ereader away from your body or on a table. You can also place a pillow between your lap and the wireless devise.  Download the entire book before you begin reading.