• My daughter started walking to school alone when she was 8. • I gave her a cellphone so she could let me know she had arrived at school safely. • Now she's 15 and her school district has banned phones during school hours, and I'm OK with it.

Like most teenagers, my daughter triple-checks that she has her phone before she leaves for school each morning. It's her lifeline to friends and a necessary tool for letting me know when she will be home after cross-country practice or checking the schedule for the public bus that gets to and from school.

Like my other children, I gave my daughter her first phone when she was young. At the age of 8, she started walking to school on her own, and I wanted her to have a phone so she could call me if she got lost or found herself in trouble.

My d

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