Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 94
94 till night. Thus, it is imperative that such mothers maintain a very open and comfortable relationship with their adolescent children and frequently talk to them about the goings on in their lives. Although technology has many benefits, one should also be aware of the harm that might be lurking underneath. Cell phones, iPod Touches, iPads, etc. , are now part of common household vocabulary. There are very few children who do not have any of these gadgets. Before giving in to children ’ s constant request s to get them a cell phone or an IPod T ouch, parents need to ask the question, “ Do you really need it? ” Children may need a cell phone for safety reasons if they have to walk to school by themselves , or are without supervision, otherwise the younger the child is when getting a cell phone, the harder it is for them to handle it responsibly. In fact, many problems in society are being caused by the misuse of cell phones. Children can waste hours in texting; while sitting in meetings they hav e their mobile phones in their hands and either texting is in progress, games are being played or photos are being viewed or taken with their phones. Not only is time wasted, but these youngsters become oblivious to their surroundings. While addressing Atf al in Germany, Hazrat Khalifatul - Masih V ( aba ) said: “ There is a widespread problem here of children demanding their parents to buy them mobile phones. Some are only just 10 years of age and say that they should have a mobile phone. Are you doing some sort of business? Or are you are doing some kind of work in which information is required to be accessed every minute? When asked, they reply “ we need to call our parents. ” If needed, your parents will call you themselves. If your parents are not worried, there is also no need for you to worry, because phones can also lead to bad habits. Through phones, some people contact children directly and then tempt them and incite them into bad habits and involve them in indecent activities. So, the mobile phone