To think parents are not teaching any independence?

Err my son graduated last year. So I have experience from him. Why would I k ow about other parents irl?

I'm not sure my parents " worried" as they wouldnt know if shock horror i would miss a bus. Simply would've expected to sort it out ourselves likely by walking

Probably easier not to worry when there no unlit country roads with a junction just before village notorious for a high death and accident rate on route back. I think that why many parents in my village did worry even in 90s. So they did give us lifts when they could when bus didn't turn up.

I think it's context - a safe route with lots of alternative transport back is going to be less of a worry if bus is missed than one when it's only one bus and the roads aren't safe for walking back.

I think being able to contact the parent is often more the benefit of the parent than the child. Most of the time the child would not be asking for help because they had missed the bus. They would just be letting the parent know. Nothing to do with not being independent.

Know teen is going to be late and not panic and ring school - that may apply if other people like siblings are in the house expecting teen back as well.

Use pay phone someone known to family who does drive to give a lift.

Phone someone to help them work out if there is another way back bus etc.

Yes there will be situations where there no-one in the house- no siblings - no-one in area to phone for a lift and parents at work with no phone access or to far to help - at which point the pay phone not being there is irrelvant.

Though smart phone is still useful as taxi apps can then be used - as DD1 had to do when both buses were out due to strikes and train due to damage to line.

I was in that situation at secondary school bus not turning up - few years in it was easier as out of town shopping center before last most dangerous mile and half got built with phone banks there. Mum wasn't always home and even when she was didn't always have the car but she still liked us to phone as did younger sibling. Plus if there was a group of peers could sometimes cadge a lift of someone else's family member who got called to get back to the village quicker. Worse case buses every hour started to leave from the center as well so could wait for those.

Prior to shopping ceneter we had to walk all way back with no phone on route and school reception already being locked. The unlit junction in winter just before village was dangerous - it's actually much worse now with increase in traffic.

The internet is a very powerful tool used correctly. Why would you not want your child to have access to it?

On a family laptop in the living room so you can see what they're doing and limit the time they spend doing it. That always used to be the recommendation.

At 16 I walked home from my job in the next village along a road without houses. I got attacked by a group of boys throwing stones. I remember being terrified. If I had a phone I could have called for help

That was the norm then but I think parents expect a different level of communication these days given the ease of it. Of course we can go back to before but it requires an expectation and mind frame shift from parents.

If it was urgent wouldn't you call a neighbour? I used to phone my parents at work too although obviously I didn't if I was just going to be a bit late as they wouldn't be at home to notice.

Oh so you only have experience in forums? All righty then. I have experience from real life students and parents

I think all the people saying you can brick but not a smart phone, whilst I do need my phone for making / receiving calls most of the things that I am reliant on my phone for is internet/apps - online banking /payments, multi factor authentication, receiving notifications from school/nursery etc, checking train times, calendar and emails.

I'm hoping that DS's school bans phones from the entire school site too. The chavvy, "school won't tell me what to do" parents will hopefully choose another school, thus driving up standards at DS's.

Our local secondary school have banned phones completely for year 7s from September and from year 8 to 11 can only have basic phones that they can only call and text on. Best thing they could have done- my daughter was bullied there several years ago, most of it done by social media- she'd block one account and another would pop up. How my generation ever survived is amazing......

If the kids followed these rules there wouldn't be an issue would there? But the trying it on and pisstaking trying to bend the rules just leads to more draconian ones

I totally agree that mobile phones aren’t needed while in school, switch them off, keep them in your bag but school cannot dictate that children can’t have a phone on them before and after school.

this answer is in regards to high school children, no primary school child needs a phone.

im in my late 40s and don’t leave home without my phone.

I read about them on the teens forum here ( where people were also asking) and went to take a look.

Of course if parents go on a uni starters forum they are the kind of people who will do this stuff. You are not taking into account all the parents who don't go on and who don't do the uni applications. I don't know any parents who go on these forums.

Yes I agree but those are the only two options

When ours were in year 7 and had basic smart phones with very little roaming data we had full parental control on what apps they had, how long they could spend online, how long they could spend each app, verification for adding contacts and at home the use was in public areas.

As they got older we agreed with them what they wanted what we would allow we explained our reasons for restrictions and explained the dangers.

They are now much better at spotting AI than us!

The internet is a very powerful tool used correctly. Why would you not want your child to have access to it?

As someone who caught a public service bus to/from school in the 1970's from the age of 9 i agree that children should have the skills to manage without phones to an extent. Back in the day, if the bus didn't turn up, we knew where an alternative service went from and walked there (with a longer walk at the other end). We didn't even have a landline at home until i was 13 so couldn't contact home anyway.
But my DS (now late 20's) did have a phone when he caught the bus to school and needed to use it on a number of occasions when there were issues with the bus and I had to go and rescue him. But we live in a rural area so alternative transport was not as freely available as it was in my childhood. That said, even when he was at Secondary school, phones were allowed but had to remain in bags at all times during the school day. Anyone caught with a phone out got a detention. If children needed to ring home in the school day they had to go to reception and use the landline. Seemed to work fine then so not sure why it can't work that way now. I've seen on tv that a number of schools do use magnetically locked pouches so that children have their phones on the way to/from school.
As others have said, bus passes etc are often on phones. BUT technology can fail so teaching children what to do in that event should be part of their independence training.

If it's the income part then yes of course you need to fill that in yourself. Maybe your son's friends but go on any teens/ uni starters forum and the parents are saying about doing such stuff

I'm not sure my parents " worried" as they wouldnt know if shock horror i would miss a bus. Simply would've expected to sort it out ourselves likely by walking.

That was the norm.

They would at least not worry about them, could arrange an uber if necessary

Ten pages in and it still seems to be about phones but they need to know how to use them for info as well as SM - our local bus company has changed its app (from a really good one to a pretty useless one) and my 19-yr old GC rang me because they 'couldn't see if their bus was on its way' on the new one. I explained you had to save the bus number as a favourite first. The bus arrived and they got on. I checked later - no, hadn't had time to add the bus number and still hasn't! Love them to bits but ffs.

Yes parents do nowdays.
The days of jumping on my bike and then seeing each other at the table for dinner was the best.
I encourage mine to be able to think & be independant.
Over the vast parenting ideals and thinking this has to be the most overbearing imo.

Imagine no phone...gosh we would have to communicate with each other or seek help.
A phone never saved a teen being murdered where I live!.

Just going by my son's cohort out of all his friends only one parent did it for them. With student finance parents have to full in part of the form themselves by law so yes I did help him with that because you have no choice

Potentially learning to cope and fend for themselves though?
My child knows to go to a shop, certain places of need be.
My childmwas pushed off a bike leaving school by one of the maladjusted kids..never a problem catching a bus home at all..even given a free ride when the bus card run out of credit.