New Delhi, June 17 : Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury has said that usage of mobile phones by school kids should be completely banned, as, in her opinion, it makes them vulnerable to the bad affects of the outside world.

She said it was high time the society took to traditional ways of parenting, and stop the kids from using modern day gadgets like mobile phones.

After inaugurating a facilitation centre of her ministry in New Delhi to provide information of various schemes and programmes, Renuka told media persons, “use of mobile phones by school kids solves no purpose….. it only makes them vulnerable to the bad affects of the outside world.”

To a suggestion that mobilephones help in ensuring safety of the school kids, she shot back, “what safety does a mobile phone ensures of a child….. we can think of other measures to ensure safety of the kids. I appeal to all parents to stop giving mobile phones, because it would help them only, not us.”

As a minister of child ‘development’, she said, “I believe in child’s overall development, and I am against all such things which distract a child’s mind.”

Renuka’s comments comes close of heels of a statement from Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who had yesterday said that use of mobile phones by kids was affecting their health as the radiation emitting out of mobile phones affect the kids mentally. “Cellphones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy while being used and even lower RF in stand-by mode. Mobile phones are being used by very young children over long periods, causing problems like headaches and short-term memory loss,” he said. (ANI)