Mobile phones that were the domain of the adult and teen market are being targeted at younger children.

In Ireland the average age for a child to get their first phone is between nine and 10, which is a year of two older than in Britain.

However, the Firefly, designed by 02, is targeted at four-year-olds. It has only five buttons, including two for Mum and Dad. The company say it is designed from a parent's point of view, with only a parent allowed to input numbers and no text messaging or downloads.

Mobile operators market these phones on the grounds of safety and security, but surely a parent is responsible for a four-year-old's safety?

Screens

For my 11-year-old daughter, her phone is largely forgotten unless a friend and she are comparing ringtones, downloaded songs or games. On the odd occasion I have called it, she has never answered and the call goes to voicemail. The reality is young children have little use for phones, no money to spend on credit, and the phone receives little use most of the time.

In an increasingly sedentary society, with obesity rates spiralling out of control for young people, do our four year olds really need another screen instead of more opportunities for active play? Excessive screen time means less time to learn interpersonal skills, which are so essential to a fulfilling life.

This week, I observed my daughter and a friend over on a play date where both were playing with their individual phones, rather than with each other. Children require interaction to develop fully and technology is posing a barrier to this.

Surely we can protect our children from influential advertising campaigns targeting them at a younger and younger age.

Targets

Children are being targeted, yet it is the parents who succumb to that pressure and buy. Parenting has become more democratic, yet that does not mean we cannot say no. The targeting of children as the next growth market for the telecom industry should be seen for what it is. Disney, or Mattel's Barbie branded mobiles are all using children to pressurise parents to purchase. It is okay to say no.

We still need to parent. That means you do not need your child to have a mobile with Global Positioning System (GPS) location tracking to know where she is.

According to research from Trinity College, one in seven children are experiencing bullying over phones through calls, texts and pictures. Bullying has become a huge issue and schools are struggling to cope with the scale of phone and cyber bullying.

Finally, the jury is out still on the potential dangers of mobile use for younger children. However, we do know that if there are risks, then the people most affected are children and the younger the child, the greater the danger.

- Sheila O'Malley