In this safety conscious world the focus is typically on making techno-gizmos, everything from smartphones to gaming systems to computers, safe for kids. But how safe is a laptop, smartphone, or Play Station 3 in the hands of a careless kid? Is there a “hospital” option for maimed gadgets?
Kids in this day and age have easier access to technology, gadgets, games and information than ever before. Many kids believe this is the greatest benefit to growing up in this century, while parents and authority figures have argued that with the rapid rate of evolution, kids don’t even have to leave home for danger to find them.
Sprint has entered into a partnership with a group of leading child-education and protection organizations to create a security system called 4NetSafety.This will ensure that all phones, computers and even video game systems that can access the Internet will have every conceivable safety precaution on-board before they are used by kids. The best news about this partnership: It’s free to use.
4NetSafety teaches parents and kids about how to protect you and your family while surfing the web. Some features include animated videos, safety tips such as selecting gender-neutral screen names, not putting any personal information in e-mail addresses or online profiles, and what could be the most important tip: Never meet in person someone you first met online.
Now that your kids are safe from online predation, what can you do to make your technology safe from them? Supervision is usually a good start to protecting fragile electronics but you can’t always keep your eye on both your kids and your gadgets. What if you happen to leave your iPhone in the bathroom and your 3-year-old has to go potty. You think she is big enough to go by herself. She does but didn’t get her pants off in time and knocked your phone on the floor right into the puddle of piddle. This wouldn’t have been such a big deal if the screen hadn’t also cracked upon impact.
What do you do when situations like this occur? A savvy consumer would start by cleaning up the puddle and the kid. The next step is almost a no-brainer in the sense that a kid could have thought of it: Head for the nearest independent repair shop. If they have expert service technicians on-site, they can dry out your phone, replace your screen, and fix whatever else needs fixing. But still, to make your gadgets truly safe from your kids, you might need an assist from God, or at least some extraterrestrial in authority.
Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. To learn more about Cell phone repair, ipod repair, cell repair services, visit Chicagocellrepair.com.
