Reply #49: I totally sympathize with the parents

[latebloomer]

There was an article in the New York Times about this recently, and they interviewed parents of 11-year-olds who took public transportation back and forth to school in Manhattan. Parents had routines set up where the kids checked in with the parents at various points along the way.

As the mother of suburban middle-school kids who I insist carry cell phones so that I'm aware of their locations, I understand why this is important to parents. It's a crazy world and you want to try to keep track of your kids. In my kids' school, they are required to turn off the phones all day and it works just fine.