Get It - Dec 2012

Get Modern
The modern day child minder
Zululanders agree - cell phones are a
necessary security tool for their children.
We live in an age in which technology is
part of the everyday lives of our children.
This Christmas, should you be the parent
of children aged from six upwards, your
child will be asking for a cell phone from
Father Christmas - if they don’t have one
already.
The general consensus among Zululand
parents is that cell phones are acceptable
from around the age of nine, which is
when most of them bought the devices
for their children.
They are, however, adamant that
primary use of the phones is to keep in
touch with parents and for safety
reasons.
Parents speak
Leandri Clifton-Smith says
she believes cell phones are great for
children, since it enables them to
remain in contact with parents in
cases of emergency.
‘But it should be a standard
phone that is not worth stealing
and with no Internet access,’ she
says.
Derron Greyling says her children - aged
10 and 11 - are on their second handsets
already.
‘It helps with Googling things for
assignments, and there are great apps
available too.
‘They are growing up in tandem with the
technology advances,’ she says.
Envery Pillay says he feels the content
that is being viewed online should be
strictly monitored.
‘My five-year-old uses my wife’s phone
- and I don’t even know how to use a
Blackberry.
‘In this day and age, parents need to take
responsibility and make sure they keep up
with the times.’
Charlene Lawrence gave a cell phone to
her eight-year-old daughter.
‘I’ve installed a tracker on it so that I can
see where she is at all times.
‘I do not allow Facebook or Internet use,’
she said.
Safety features aimed at youngsters
‘Cell phone companies offer fixed
dialling on most of the handsets,’ says
Louia Gouws of Nashua in Richards Bay.
‘With this service you can add up to a
maximum of nine phone numbers, and
only those phone numbers can be called .
‘You can also choose a ‘Top Up’ option on
all three major networks - MTN , Vodacom
We are living in a time when, to withhold
technology from our children is to
place them at a disadvantage to their peers. But what
is the right way to ensure your child’s
physical safety and connectivity, while also protecting
them from the dangers of the Internet community?
and Cell C - to control costs,’ she explains.
‘There is a further option for setting up
short codes with which they can check
their airtime balances immediately after
making a call, and this teaches your
children or teens to keep within their
allocated budget .
With regards to Internet safety, Gouws
says that Vodacom offers a service
wherein a short code can be programmed
into a handset to bar the downloading of
any content from the Internet.
She says when using the BIS (Blackberry
Internet Service) function on Blackberry
smart phones, youngsters will have access
to both BBM (Blackberry Messenger) and
the Internet.
We find that
due to BIS
being available
on Blackberry,
it is one of the
most popular
handsets that
the youngsters
want - and it
offers them
quick
access to
Facebook, Twitter and so on’
‘If taken on a Top Up contract, they can
budget themselves as they have to buy
airtime once they have depleted the
allocated airtime .
She says Blackberry handsets have
become very affordable and still seems
to be the most popular choice for both
children and parents, as they can stay in
constant contact for no extra cost using
the BBM service.
December Month 12 09 Get It It Zululand 19 00