Mobile phones: Child's play?

It seems the chirp of mobile phones is set to drown out the whirl of yo-yos and the scraping of knees in the schoolyards of the 21st Century.

Some observers in the telecommunications industry suggest that as many as 300,000 children in the UK now own a cellphone - up from a mere 3,000 just two years ago.

The BBC's flagship children's news programme Newsround said late last year that mobile phones were the most requested Christmas gift by young people aged 10 to 15.

The gadgets had reputedly displaced traditional toys and even computer games in a survey.

It was even feared the usual Christmas lament about the absence of batteries in new presents would be replaced by wails over the lack of signal - as mobile networks collapsed under the youthful onslaught.

Will the yo-yo finally fall from grace?

Mobile phone companies have reported a massive surge in sales in the run-up to Christmas, pushing the number of users in the UK to 24 million.

With around 40% of the British population already hooked up, and demand high from young consumers, it looks likely that schoolchildren will soon be targeted as a fresh market.

In Japan, where 60% of teenagers have access to a cellphone, computer games maker Nintendo is plotting to allow Gameboy owners to battle each other via their phones.

Apparently the company's hugely-popular Pokemon game will be the first to be phone compatible.

Mobile monsters: Pokemon games via the phone

Although such opportunities may please phone manufacturers, teachers will be less enthusiastic.

Mobiles could become yet another source of playground one-up-manship or worse still, bullying.

More disingenuous scholars may even exploit telecommunications technology to cheat in exams.

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, says "inconsiderate" use of mobile phones by pupils will see the gadgets combated in the same way as previous crazes, such as pagers and Gameboys.

Mr McAvoy predicts governors will rule: "Mobile phones are not for use during the school day - particularly during lessons."

'Can I phone a friend, Sir?'

"It is not only the person phoning or being phoned whose education is being disturbed - it is the progress of the entire class."

Charles Whitney, a Gloucestershire deputy head and a member of the Professional Association of Teachers, suggests incoming calls from home may also hinder studies and development.

Mr Whitney quoted a "European education expert" who likened children's mobile phones to "a dangerous extension of the umbilical cord".

Indeed many parents claim to purchase handsets expressly to keep tabs on their offspring should an emergency arise.

Parent Paul Brannan gave his 12-year-old son a mobile phone for Christmas.

Will phone bills literally break the bank?

"I have mixed feelings about whether it's a good thing or not. On the plus side it means he can contact us if he's going to be late home from school, or staying over with a friend.

"It also means that our friends can call us at home on the land line and not get a permanently engaged signal while he chats."

Mr Brannan says the phone, far from being an expensive drain, can benefit family life.

"We've signed up to a pre-paid package so we've tied the replacement cards - £10 a time - to good behaviour and a requirement to help around the house.

"Washing up, dusting, all earn credits and I expect I'll end up with the cleanest car in the road!"

Continued confusion over the health implications of excessive mobile phone use could prompt parents not to buy a handset for their children.

However, should the number of young users continue to grow at such a spectacular rate, the issue of mobile safety is bound to gain an extra urgency.