As predicted I now have had all 3 kids with Chicken Pox since my last blog was published. So that has meant a lot of juggling with work, life and school. It has also made me an “expert” on Chicken Pox and Shingles thanks to the web, my family and friends and I have not had to visit the doctor once throughout the whole Chicken Pox saga.

It has made me consider the question – How many people are now self diagnosing using the web without going to a doctor? What are the dangers?

Based on what I read on the web and tips from friends (not from a doctor) I spent $100 at the chemist on kids Panadol, adult Panadol (for me mainly), Pinetarsol (Yes Mark Morley it does stink and the kids hate it), Calamine lotion, Zirtec, Demazin and some cotton wool which I have managed to use with all 3 kids.

I am definitely not an “alternative medicine/not into doctors” type at all– it is just that the whole drama of getting a doctors appointment, taking time off work to take the kids to the doctor and then follow up is just so hard these days. Just like online banking, online shopping, online advice on product and services – getting online medical advice is just another step in saving time, money and heartache.

Have you found yourself using the web to diagnose and find remedies for mild ailments or even major items such as cancer? I would be interested to hear from the readers of this blog on how often they are now using the web to diagnose illnesses without going to a doctor??

Now for a Kids mobile phone update

In between chicken pox, work and life in general we have managed to trial the first mobile for Savannah.

The first phone is the Tic Talk.

The TicTalk phone is a small phone that can be set to allow contact with only a specific list of numbers. You can restrict numbers to specific times of the day, who the kids can call and who can call your kids. And as the parent, you can send text message to the phone. Kids cannot send one back though. The phone includes educational games for math, spelling, science and social studies. This is a great idea. You can set the games to give phone minutes as rewards.

The Tic Talk phone arrived in a box from the office with instructions sent to me over email. I was really keen to see what Savannah would think of the Tic Talk.

It did not take long to get feedback. As soon as she got the phone out of the box she started with a long list of reasons of why this was not the phone for her.

Here are the top 4 reasons why this was not the phone for Savannah:

• “It does not look like a phone”
• “Leapfrog games are for babies”
• “It does not have ringtones, fun games, texting, music, email or a browser”
• “It looks like a stopwatch”

My other 2 kids loved the phone – seems like this phone is more suited to 5 and 6 year olds than 10 year olds. One common theme with all 3 kids is they did not really care much about making phone calls. It was more about the games, the features and the look.

Based on all the feedback to this blog about mobile and kids I can say that the positives from my view are:

• “Easy to use for parents and kids”
• “Managing the phone numbers and times on the website is really simple and easy”
• “I can send text messages directly to the phone from my laptop at work”
• “It can be turned off during school hours by setting this up on the website”

So considering this sat unused in Savannah’s bedroom for most of the week this one is definitely not meeting the mark.

The next phone chosen for trial is the Hip Top. You can take a look at the phone at www.telstra.com.au/hiptop/device.htm

With this Hip Top phone Savannah is getting everything she has listed in her dream list of the ultimate phone – and I am not getting the parent control I had with the Leap Frog.

What I would like to see is Parent control as an easy-to-use Web-based application that lets parents set limits and restrictions on how their kids use their mobile phones on any mobile they have.

Parents would be able to

• Disallow phone use during certain hours of the day, such as school or study time
• Prevent the phone from making calls to, or receiving calls from, phone numbers that they specify
• Specify time limits and restricted times according to services – for example, phone calls allowed during school hours, but no text messaging
• Easily modify the restrictions so, for example, they are looser during weekends or holidays but stricter during school or exam times.
• Specify “always allow” numbers – such as parents and family – that are allowed through even during restricted times (Emergency calls are always allowed and cannot be blocked)
• Enable mobile Web filtering to block the downloading of inappropriate content
• With this kids can enjoy their mobile phones within the reasonable limits their parents set, and parents can rest assured that their children are always within reach. It would be the perfect solution for balancing security and freedom of use.

What do you think about the idea of web based parent control on any mobile that the kids are using – you can decide how strict or loose you want to set the controls?