Wireless devices can seem to be magical saviors of sanity when it comes to taking care of children. When you just need something to distract your child, so you can get a moment of quiet, your phone is there as a quick fix, right? What if the wireless radiation from these magical devices posed life-long health risks to you and your child?
If you are struggling with your child’s challenging behavior at home or your child is not sleeping through the night wireless radiation may be part of the root cause.
A Brief Discussion of the Dangers of EMF
The EMF energy given off by wireless devices has been considered weak and touted to pose no health risks. However, this claim is not entirely supported by research; many studies show that wireless radiation is damaging to overall health and child development. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (a branch of WHO-the World Health Organization) classifies RF energy as a Class 2B Carcinogen. Other carcinogens that have this classification are: lead, chloroform, gasoline fumes, and the pesticide DDT. Would you want your child exposed to any of these carcinogens at the level of current Wi-Fi exposure?
In addition, safety standards do not typically account for the effect of radiation on a developing fetus or small child. The research that does analyze the effects of EMF on children have alarming results. In 2004, A study on animals linked EMF exposure to delayed kidney development in utero. In 2009, A study conducted in Austria found that exposure to wireless radiation disrupts normal cellular development, especially for fetal development. This runs the risk of increasing the potential for developmental disorders.
Disrupted sleep
One way in which these dangers manifest is in the quality and amount of sleep we receive. Sleep is foundational to children’s development and disrupted sleep is deleterious to health and optimal well-being. To read more on the importance of sleep check out my articles, Neuroscience of Sleep Part 1: Rock the Baby and Neuroscience of Sleep Part 2: Challenging Sleep Behaviors in Children.
In addition, poor sleep is related to many types of challenging behavior and impaired cognitive processes in children. According to the research article, Behavior Sleep Problems and their Potential Impact on Developing Executive Function in Children, studies have found a correlation between reported sleep problems in children and difficulty with problem solving, self-regulation, attention, hyperactivity, aggression, opposition, mood, anxiety, poor school functioning, and lower cognitive performance. In the editorial, The Feedback Whirlpool of Early Childhood Sleep and Behavior Problems, Michelle Garrison details that the connection between sleep and behavior challenges is bidirectional. When a child is experiencing problems with sleep, behavioral difficulties arise or are increased which in turn leads to further sleep struggles. This puts in place a dangerous cycle that derails children’s developmental health. This cycle could be ended by reducing your child’s exposure to EMF and enabling a full night’s restful sleep.
The following is a list of some of the correlative dangers associated with sleep and wireless radiation
- Delayed deep non-REM sleep
- Decreased amount of time spent in sleep stages
- Inhibition of melatonin (the hormone that regulates sleep cycles)
- Changes in brainwaves connected to a more challenging time falling asleep
- Development of chronic sleep problems
- Sleep deprivation
- Depression
- Hypertension
- Reduced brain activity
Stop the Signal 
Decrease nighttime exposure and environmental radiation.
Phase 1 Where to begin? Turn your WiFi off before going to sleep. This will reduce your exposure by 33%.
Phase 2 Ready to do more? Keep your WiFi router off until you need to use it.
Phase 3 Possibly the safest choice…is to hardwire your internet connection and do away with wireless radiation altogether. This may be a change and require some work but there are very real benefits. For starters, hardwired internet tends to be faster and more reliable!
Decrease daytime exposure
Start limiting time with devices that expose children to radiation. If your child loves playing games on your phone this may be challenging, so you can go slowly. You can decrease the amount of time spent on devices and offer fun alternatives that engage your child.
Children do not need technology to be entertained or pacified. There are many activities children love to do that do not expose them to the dangers of radiation.
- Encourage children to play! Especially outside
- Read with your child
- Provide books for your child to look at-even before children can read they love to look at books
- Bring an activity when going on an outing such as coloring books, puzzles, toys etc…
- Use CD players for music
Follow your Intuition
If you decide to reduce your family’s EMF exposure, note the changes you see in your life. While effects of wireless radiation may not result in an immediate disease, there may health issues in your life that you do not connect to EMF exposure. Once you limit or remove wireless radiation you most likely will start to see an improvement in you and your child’s overall health and happiness.
Are you sleeping better at night? Is your child sleeping through the night? (YES! That is a possibility) Do you have more energy during the day
Resources
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/10-shocking-facts-health-dangers-wifi/#references
https://www.defendershield.com/10-facts-health-dangers-wifi/
https://wellnessmama.com/128198/wifi-safe/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669074/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2214163