I do recognize that on occasion, the advantages of using these manmade pulsating frequencies out-weigh the dangers of using them.
But, speaking from the perspective of someone who is EMF sensitive, it is actually a benefit in many ways to have a body that quickly recognizes (within hours) something that is damaging cells, something is wrong in the environment. It’s a good warning system!
Some people’s “buckets” are bigger and they don’t recognize the damage as quickly until many years.
For me, having a “smaller bucket”, I will turn what I now know into a post to write on the behalf of children.
Proverbs 31:8-9 and Psalm 41:1 (NIV’84) says –
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
“….have regard for the weak…”
General Concerns
Think for a moment of the health issues experienced by smokers or the non-smokers who are affected by others near them who smoke. The damage that the practice of smoking causes isn’t always recognized quickly or even in everyone. But everyone can be affected in some way to those exposures.
Long-term Concerns
Likewise, the bombardment of the wireless signals (RF) can go on for years and years and then show up in a cancer, for example, where a person has stored his/her cell phone or just in cancer in general. (e.g. CBC Marketplace did a general investigation at this older link here.)
Some researchers are concerned with cancers (including those in young people) or neurodegenerative disorders and how our technologies affect people to develop these.
In the past, the World Health Organization has classified radiofrequency radiation (i.e. the wireless signals in cell phones, iPads, etc.) as a Group 2B ‘possible’ human carcinogen. That classification group of 2B is also where DDT and lead are classified. (Source of reference linked here.)
Short-Term Concerns
Have you ever seen a road sign that shows someone on their phone, not paying proper attention? Think that people only get foggy due to age? Ever seen a dazed kid or tired one? Of course – we all have!
Wireless signals can affect seniors as well as younger people with fogginess and communication challenges too. (Of course, poor quality sleep can result in fogginess too which is another reason to be as supportive as possible for good sleep and ditch the idea of sleeping under Wi-Fi.)
We should be trying to help our kids learn, not putting them into environments where they struggle with abilities to pay attention or recall things quickly, just because of technologies that are in their spaces.
How can we, as parents and teachers, help our kids to learn better?
Table of Contents
Homeschoolers
How often do we hear of homeschooling kids using wireless technology to do their schoolwork? For example, putting laptops on their lap, playing computer games, using smart phones, ipads, reading their novels digitally or watching educational video content on their personal device or their mom’s?
How Common Is Using a Wireless Device in Homeschooling?
I don’t know but…
- One of the fastest-growing methods of “homeschooling” is online schooling – and I’ll guess that most of that online schooling gets done over a wireless device.
- Three of the most-popular methods of homeschooling are Charlotte Mason, Classical, or Literature-based styles. In other words, a method where the student reads many novels – more than other styles. And, from what I have encountered in my interactions with other homeschool moms in groups (in North America), many of those novels a homeschool student now reads are read in the format of electronic copies, borrowed from an online library. In other words, the homeschool families tends to read much in electronic format, typically on a wireless device.
- And my kids began using the laptop “on wireless” and were learning how to use a new smart phone the summer that my eyesight started to rapidly deteriorate. Having two parents who worked readily with computers, we wanted to have them learn some of those skills especially as they grew older and we had recently moved to a house where high-speed was available. (Where we had raised them in the early years, we had been in a blackhole zone.) When the ethernet wire broke one summer, we just decided to use stuff on wireless instead for a while instead of replacing the wire.
We do want our students to have the skill of using modern technology of course, especially in senior school years. But how are we teaching this? How was I teaching this? I didn’t know better, so I simply had them use it wired or wireless because I didn’t think it mattered and I thought it was all safe for them.
I didn’t know. Most people don’t know either.
Now I groan if I read about another mom describing her young son undergoing lengthy cancer treatments with as he was waiting for his turn, he was playing with his iPad.
I sigh when I hear of a parent trying to sooth a toddler in a stroller by giving him or her a cell phone to play with while shopping or to keep quiet in church.
And yes, I groan when I hear of homeschool parents giving wireless devices to their kids for schoolwork or for “just learning to enjoy with good apps and programs” before they even know how to drive a car!
Are you or your kids very “intensive users” of wireless tech?
Dr. Magda Havas is a Canadian university professor who researches the impact of the changing environment. In comparison to the Bio initiative Reports which has 1800+ scientific articles on this specific topic, she provides a list of fewer but still profound documents at this link, perhaps more understandable by the general public, from scientists who have researched the health effects of over-exposure to cell phones, cell towers, wifi, wireless devices, as well as high electrical fields. (The Bio initiative Reports include the effects of manmade electromagnetic frequencies on nature, not just human health. The link provided in this paragraph just relates to human health effects.) In both cases, the majority of the scientists involved are from Europe which has had greater wireless connectivity in society earlier than Canada.
Here is a very interesting quote in another article by Dr. Magda Havas about cancer concerns with cell phone usage. Here is the link to the below quote. It is from September 2010, in a time period when cell phone usage wasn’t as prominent, nor were towers or public wifi and so radiation had lower levels compared to today’s technologies…
“The OAHPP (Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion) presented studies showing that long-term, frequent users of cell phones may develop tumors on the same side of the head where the cell phone is used and those living near cell phone base stations may experience adverse health effects. The statement about cell phones is echoed by the World Health Organization and is based on the INTERPHONE 3 study.
“The largest ever international study of mobile phone safety has concluded that the devices do not raise the risk of brain cancer, except for a possible slight increase in tumors among the most intensive users.”
WOW! When I calculate that sort of math, most people in the North American society now fits within that old category of a “most intensive user”!
(The math? If you divide 1640 hours into 364 days of the year, it calculates to 4.5 hours/day for exposure to RF signals – 4.5 hours daily means “HEAVY USER”! (And that is “total cumulative”, so not figuring in using such for the next year either.) Many families have children exposed, either at school or at home, at least 6 hours/day for at least 5 days each week to the same types of frequencies but in Wi-Fi routers and Bluetooth. Some families even have wireless things emitting 24/7 in their homes! And no, putting a sticker on a device or having a beautiful rock sitting in your living room, doesn’t help lessen harmful exposures to people who live there.)
How Many People Are Negatively Affected? Here are just two of the links which indicate the amount of that kind of impact in our world: Safe Living Technologies – What is EHS? and the Austrian Medical Association. And it’s a growing problem.
Even if a family has no sensitivities…
One of the people we’ve met was not EMF sensitive when he found out about the dangers of manmade EMFs. But he was sick…
He was given a choice to change his habits and environment to allow his body chance to heal without bombarding it with electro and chemical pollution or to go with chemo.
He chose the first option and became cancer-free. I’m not saying that radiation and chemo can’t help; I believe that it can. However, the body has a greater opportunity to recover and heal when the cells aren’t constantly under attack and needing to repair as a result of the person hitting it more with wireless technology (e.g. typical iPads, cell phones, etc.).
What will we do in education on this?
What will home educated families, who CAN control a certain measure of their environment for the school-day, choose to do with the information they gather on this topic?
I still believe that many aspects of modern technology CAN be very helpful. But how will our next generation be taught with regards to how to use technology as safe as possible?
Can we as homeschool parents educate ourselves and then pass on these necessary skills to our kids who will be likely required to use some measure of technology in parts of their post-secondary education/training and careers?
Skills such as how to set-up a device to be safer and figure out what can be truly optional and therefore not “needed“?
Skills such as how to find other ways to do a task and minimize time spent with tech devices?
Can we add this “safer use of technology” topic to what many of us are already doing in teaching them about online/internet safety?
Can we teach them to be wise while not being fearful of the future or heading into complacency?
I believe we can!
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 27:12 (NIV)
Using Technology in a Safer Way – Because of Children
Following are some links relating to children, education, and the harmful effects of cell phones, baby monitors, cordless phones, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, video games, smart meters, etc..
There is strong evidence that high levels of EMFs significantly affect autism, ADHD, and similar behavioral or delayed development and other health issues which can be very important for parents to consider. Take the time to try reducing or eliminating wireless signals and high electricity in your home to see if it makes a difference to people around you.
How to measure how big the problem is at your homeschool or school – In the USA (I’m from Canada), there is a person, Cece Doucette, who is working hard to try to lower the exposures of wireless technology in the school systems with speaking on parents behalf to her country’s congress. Her work is to be applauded. If you search for her name and “how to use an acoustimeter“, you can see/hear what the invisible radiation coming from wireless devices sounds like. (I have one of those gadgets personally. I understand that Cece was working for a time to get these measuring tools into public libraries in USA for lending out to families. You might have one in your local library which would be free for you to borrow and test out your home. I don’t think we have that option here in Canada yet.
UPDATE NOTE: The Acoustimeter is a very good RF measuring tool. However, the company that was making them has ceased production so these are very hard to find anymore. The RF meter that I would recommend that is available now and has many similarities is the “Safe and Sound Pro II” meter. I do not sell any emf-related devices nor am I an affiliate of any emf-related business. But you can see what this specific meter does in a video by Michael Neuert (an engineer and teacher of a good course about EMFs) here.
Children and Dangers with Wireless Tech
FAQ – Wireless Education, Wireless Tech Safety
Moving to Learn (Canada): Wireless Radiation is Not Safe for Children
- Rconnect-Webinars-Research-Fact-Sheet-updated-Feb.-23-22-1.pdf (reconnectwebinars.com) – quite a good summary of short bits of over 300 research facts compiled and organized topically (with references) by Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist and biologist in Canada.
- Moving to Learn’s website (2017, British Columbia) summarizes some statistics, indicating over-use of current technologies contributing to them: “Escalating incidence of poor child physical and mental health in Canada has now reached epidemic proportions. One in three children enter school developmentally vulnerable, one in four are obese or overweight one in five have a diagnosed mental illness , and one in ten are addicted to technology . 73% of children are sleep deprived (National Sleep Foundation 2016) negatively impacting on mental, physical, social and academic performance. Autism is now 1 in 65 and adhd 1 in 5 for males (CDC 2016). Cancer incidence in teens has risen 25% over the past 38 years.”
- Another occupational therapist has noticed muscle weakness in toddlers who play with screens too much (CBS News – Source link).
- And most people who’ve thought about problems with tech and kids already know of the issue of excessive screen time.
Calming behavior in children with autism and ADD | Wall Street International Magazine (wsimag.com)
Cancer Rates Increasing for Younger People (summarized studies but technical).
More Schools are Reducing Wireless for Their Students!
This is very encouraging to hear! And if secular schools can do it, we certainly can!
School Examples:
Inviting Discussion About Safer Tech Use in Schools | Electronic Silent Spring – Tips and reasons for reducing emfs in school environments with detailed lists, references. (Both this and the article linked right above are by the same author, Katie Singer.)
Cell Phone Free – One School’s Story (Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2024) – This school chose to not have personal technology devices used during the school day – a great step in the right direction!
Schools Around the World – See what some countries have decided to do about wireless technology options in their schools, listed and summarized on this page by Environmental Health Trust.
What the world is doing about wireless policies? See this page on Environmental Health Trust for the map.
The story of Ashland Public Schools (Cece Doucette) – Episode 1 – This is about a half-hour video but it covers a lot in an understandable manner, especially if one is new to these issues.
- For readers who want to look at detailed information, Cece Doucette has also linked to this webpage which lists several links about more studies relating to children’s health and the effects of wireless signals. (Note: It is an older page so some links there may not work.)
- In one of the episodes, she also provided this video link: Right to Know – An Environmental Briefing. To me, the portions of interest are when Dr. Devra Davis briefly mentions a Yale University study on pregnant mice exposed simply to a cell phone “on” near them for their gestation and then produced babies who were born with poorer memory, hyperactivity, and more anxiety than normal mice (around the 8:25-9:20 minute mark). Also, Mr. Frank Clegg (formerly of Microsoft Canada) provides some points about children and wireless tech, including in other countries, around the 10:00-19:00 minute mark. (He includes where politically things were at years ago; but C-648 was shelved.) Here is a quote from him [about Safety Code 6, the current guidelines for saying if wireless is safe or not]:
- “Our North American guidelines are stuck on Albert Einstein’s theory that non-ionizing radiation cannot cause harm. Or if it does, it must heat tissue. Canadian and FCC guidelines recognize only thermal effects causing harm. In other words, only if the tissue is heated. Albert Einstein passed away the same year Steve Jobs was born. To think the science has not evolved since then, is unacceptable and, in my opinion, ignores the entire period of published evidence that’s available for today.” (His website of C4ST (Canadians for Safe Technology) is under re-construction and not available at the moment.)
Real Life Stories…..
When wireless was first introduced in schools (and wasn’t generally within homes yet), some of the children, teens, (and staff) became noticeably affected within a short period of time. Because it was so “new”, I think there was more attention to it in the media. Although we might not hear about it as much in the media now, it does not mean that people have stopped becoming affected with over-exposures to wireless. Even I, as just one person, still hear of people who become sensitive or get a type of cancer attributed to cell phone radiation. Sometimes it’s young people and sometimes it’s middle age or older. But this issue in society has NOT disappeared.
Here are a few places where you can read or watch what happened when some students were exposed to more wireless tech. It illustrates what has happened AND continues to happen.
- Ontario – The Globe and Mail (August 2010, Keith Leslie): Barrie Parents Demand Schools Turn Off Wi-Fi – “Some parents in the Barrie, Ont., area say their children are showing a host of symptoms ranging from headaches and dizziness to nausea and even racing heart rates….The parents complain they can’t get the Simcoe County school board or anyone else to take their concerns seriously, even though the children’s symptoms all disappear on weekends when they aren’t in school….realizing this is the pattern,…The symptoms, which also include memory loss, trouble concentrating, skin rashes, hyperactivity, night sweats and insomnia, have been reported in 14 Ontario schools in Barrie, Bradford, Collingwood, Orillia and Wasaga Beach since the board decided to go wireless…” (A similar article on the same situation is reported in Today’s Parent (2011/2017) and another one reported at CityNews (August 2010) saying that it had affected approximately 30 students within that board district. Some parents planned to pull their students out to homeschool instead.)
- Children speak about suffering environmental sensitivities at their school (a 5 minute short video)
- A 16:9 video (Global News, Canada, 2010) investigative report on Wi-Fi in schools. This takes almost 15 minutes to watch. Teens, parents, and officials speak on it. (Also, Magda Havas shows a heart rate test on a sensitive man with the router on or off when he’s blindfolded.)
Christian Perspectives
The complaint of inconvenience…
A very key point that we, as the ‘decision-makers’ (i.e. parents, teachers), must remember is that it simply is NOT a good thing to complain about a lack of convenience. I don’t think it’s often the kids who are complaining if the wireless becomes wired – it’s the adults.
That is perhaps the biggest hurdle in a home or school – to realize that we value ‘convenience’ too much sometimes.
With a wired connectivity, a device is of course, less-mobile, which many see as a “downside”; but it is well worth that small lack of convenience! (And remember, a wired connectivity tends to be much more stable for running online in comparison to wireless, so that part would be a plus for anyone.)
If you are struggling with the idea and sighing “poor me”, remind yourself of Philippians chapter 2, such as verses 14-16a:
“Do all things without complaining and disputing,
that you may become blameless and harmless,
children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life…”
You are not here to be served but to serve. “Convenience” should have very little value as we consider others around us and what is best for everyone. If we put too much worth on it, it will actually become a hindrance in many ways.
Here’s a song that helps us remember this too: “Why Complain?” by Evie.
For the sake of the family…
- Taming the Techno Beast – Todd Wilson, Christian homeschooling dad. Todd begins taking the topic of reducing technology in the family, from the perspective of not wanting to have any member of the family emotionally/mentally disconnected or addicted, rather than from a health perspective. He has spoken and written (including a student workbook) on this topic. His seminar that I heard was not in much detail, but it definitely can be a starting place for families to recognize some issues if they are not yet aware that wireless technology is a problem. One of the places on his website for this topic is: What’s inside – Taming the Techno-Beast Student Workbook – Familyman (familymanweb.com)
- Heidi St. John is another Christian homeschooling mom who talks about being online less and in real life more. Here are two links to her website if you’re interested in listening to what she says about this topic. 1. Online Less, In Life More (general insights) and 2. Online and Overexposed (which deals with social media management).
You may also be interested in:
Tips for Reducing EMFs in a Home School Environment
How Can I Use a Mobile (Cell) Phone Better? This post gives points for using phones less and also how to use them or iPads wired to ethernet and on non-wireless settings.