How much tech is too much for kids?

There also are physical concerns. Long hours at computer keyboards have been linked to repetitive stress injuries. Some researchers are concerned about the health effects of electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, though there are conflicting findings from studies. And it is well known that long-term exposure to loud noises — the type that can be produced by, say, really loud music — can contribute to hearing loss over decades.

Deanna Meinke of the National Hearing Conservation Association said that portable music players aren’t a bad thing in themselves, as long as they’re used responsibly. In other words, don’t crank the volume up to lawnmower-like noise levels for hours on end.

“I would encourage that they have intermittent use,” said Meinke, chairwoman of the association’s task force on children and noise.

Brian Fligor, an audiologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston, said that based on his research, he recommends limiting headphone use to an hour or less a day at 60 percent volume.
Setting such limits is important, experts say. Just as parents make rules for use of the family car, they should set limits on use of computers, and gadgets.

For instance, Tina Williams of Guilderland, N.Y., bought her 11-year-daughter Megan both an iPod and a cell phone in the last few months — with strict limits. Megan’s cell phone came with prepaid minutes and is primarily for contacting her parents. It is not for chit chat. The iPod is for private use around the home, not for the mall. Williams keeps track of cell phone minutes and iPod selections.

“She cannot put anything on that iPod I don’t see,” she said.

In the end, Scott came to some conclusions on her own: She’ll wait before buying her daughter a cell phone; she wants her to earn the iPod with baby-sitting money; the Playstation will be an end-of-the-year holiday gift for her daughter, to be shared with her father.

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