Once the kids realize their parents are tracking their location with the phone, the answer is easy: ditch the phone.

So now they are out in the world, in potentially dangerous situations, without a way to call for help, lookup a map, get a ride, etc.

We were always clear with our kids: We're not tracking you, we trust you, and you can call us for help without getting in trouble.

You can tell them not to do stupid things all day, but life finds a way, and I want them fully equipped when it happens.

Kids aren't ditching their phones because they're being tracked (unfortunately).

> You can tell them not to do stupid things all day, but life finds a way, and I want them fully equipped when it happens.

Mine's following her uncle's footsteps: he's BJJ black belt (and instructor) and she's into her 4th year of BJJ. She already dislocated another person's arm (another teenager who wanted to "see if BJJ works").

The goal is not to overpower a 25 y/old muscular man: but to win her just enough time to be able to ring an alarm/pass a distress call, grab her pepper spray in her purse, etc.

I trust her and she can do all the crazy shit teenagers do she wants to do: it's some of the others I don't trust.

> Once the kids realize their parents are tracking their location with the phone, the answer is easy: ditch the phone.

In the "One Battle After Another" movie there was a (semi)funny subplot about this, except in the other direction, the parent wanted the kid to ditch the phone, and the kid had a secret one.

> now they are out in the world, in potentially dangerous situations, without a way to call for help, lookup a map, get a ride, etc.

Oh, the horror

>So now they are out in the world, in potentially dangerous situations, without a way to call for help, lookup a map, get a ride, etc.

You mean exactly how every human existed every minute before <20 years ago?

Perfect.

My family spends a large majority of our time out of cell service - downhill and back country sking, canoeing, hiking, camping and everything else.

We love it, and plan to never give our daughter a phone (I don’t have one). Hopefully our town will ban them for kids anyway.

Oddly enough when I was 9 I regularly went places without a phone. If I needed to reach my family I’d have to find a pay phone and hope someone was at home to answer.

The general backup plan was to go to the nearest friends’ house.

So, back to the relationship we had with technology in the 90s? Perfect!