Two Spanish children, aged 12 and 13, have been sent to a mental hospital because of their addiction to cell phones. BBC Mundo reports that the two boys were sent to the institution because they were “unable to do normal activities without their cell phones.” According to the parents, the children’s grades were affected by the excessive cell phone use and their conduct was also severely impacted.

The children will be receiving treatment in the Children’s Mental Health Clinic in Lleida (Catalunya) for three months in an attempt to get them off the cell phone habit.

The BBC reports that the boys had been showing signs of addiction to their cells for 18 months prior, but the parents had not intervened.

Maybe I’m old school, but do we really need a treatment program for this? How about just taking the cell phones away?

By the way, it’s not just kids who are addicted to cell phones in Spain. In a country of 44 million people, there are 50 million cell phones — more phones than people.

Via / BBC Mundo