Sir William Stewart, chair of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said parents should take a 'precautionary approach' to minimise mobile use by young children, despite a lack of conclusive proof that radiation emitted by the phones and masts is dangerous to public health.
A new NRPB report, Mobile Phones and Health 2004, says that children's brains are more vulnerable to radiation than adults because their nervous systems are still developing and their skull tissue is thinner.
Professor Stewart recommended that children should use mobiles for 'as short a time as possible and they should use text messaging as much as possible' instead. The NRPB report said text messaging, with the phone held away from the head, had 'considerable advantages' over voice communication.
Professor Stewart said, 'If you have a teenager and you feel they can benefit in terms of security by having a mobile phone, it's a personal choice. But if mobile phones are available to three- to eight-year-olds, I can't believe for a moment that can be justified.'
He added that he believed that mobile phone masts should not be sited near schools and advised that 'the planning process on base stations needs to be revisited and updated'.
Children's charity NCH backed Professor Stewart and urged parents to restrict children's mobile phone use. John Carr, NCH's technology advisor, said, 'There is no doubt mobile phones can play a useful and positive part in helping families to stay in touch and children to stay safe. But unless the scientific controversy is definitively settled, NCH urges parents to make sure children only use their phones if it is absolutely necessary.'
Following publication of the report, a company that launched the UK's first mobile phone targeted at children aged four to eight announced it was suspending sales. Communic8 launched the MyMo phone last August.
Adam Stephenson, marketing director for Communic8, said, 'The decision to withdraw the product is taken in light of this new research. Although we feel the product, if used as recommended with parental guidance, is safe, it would be foolish if we were to simply ignore the findings.'
Child psychologist Jennie Lindon welcomed the report. She said, 'There is too much over-electronicisation of children. Children come without batteries and it is better for them to chat to people face to face. If they do wish to talk to someone who is not there, they can borrow an adult's mobile phone or use a landline.'