France Bans WIFI in Kindergartens & Childcare

on October 2020

France Bans WIFI in Nurseries, Schools, Kindergartens and Childcare Centres

Since 2015, France has banned WIFI in nurseries, schools, kindergartens and childcare centres across the nation that cater for children under the age of six. This is in a bid to reduce young children's exposure to electromagnetic wave radiation.

Restrictions on WIFI access in schools are intended to reduce young children’s exposure to electromagnetic wave radiation, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers, “possibly carcinogenic”. SOURCE

Establishments offering public Wi-Fi access will now have to display a symbol indicating the presence of electromagnetic waves.

The French government has been active in taking a bold move to cater to this alarming concern by passing a national law. In January 2015, the French National Assembly made history by pioneering towards this cause by passing a new national law to reduce exposure to harmful electromagnetic radiations from Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The following were introduced:

Wi-Fi to be banned in Nursery Schools.
Wi-Fi usage to be minimized in Schools for children up to 11 years of age.
The Management Board of the Schools should be informed of any new tech equipment being installed in the schools.
Citizens to have access to Environmental/Cell Tower Radiation Measurements near their homes.
Cell Antennae locations to be mapped for the entire country and information to be made available to the public.
SAR Radiation labelling mandated on the Cell Phone Package.
Information on Reducing Exposures to be mandatory in the contents of the cell phone manuals inside the cell phone package.
Wi-Fi Hotspots to be labelled and marked with a pictogram.
Advertisements Must Recommend Devices That Reduce Radiation Exposure to the Brain. Companies in violation will be fined 75,000 Euros.
Children Must Be Provided Protection. Equipment reducing cell phone radiation exposures to the head for children less than 14 years should be provided.
Electro-hyper-sensitivity (EHS) Report to be submitted to be submitted on an annual basis to the Parliament. This new law represents a significant and bold step forward, serving as a great example for all nations towards the cause of “danger to health from electromagnetic radiations”. It is also a call to action for the governments across the world to undertake such protective legislation.

And it's not just France that are taking precautions. A number of schools in England, France and Canada have dismantled their Wi-Fi and reverted to a wired system due to concerns raised by parents and teachers, and also due to health symptoms experienced by some children. In other countries, like Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Israel, Russia and China, decisions have been made to lower the legal exposure limit when it comes to electromagnetic wave radiation, especially in areas where children are spending time.

International Policy Actions on Wireless Technology.

Source

one study suggest that limiting children's exposure to WIFI radiation is absolutely a smart move, as children and fetuses absorb more microwave radiation. This, according to the authors, is because their bodies are relatively smaller, their skulls are thinner, and their brain tissue is more absorbent than in an adult.

We certainly do not wish parents to abandon wireless devices. However, being aware of contact time and reducing exposure time is certainly a good thing in many ways.