Being a single parent with a middle schooler, knowing where she is at all times is very important. After school, or if something happended, etc. The school will and should take any phone away if it is being used during school hours, but it must be silenced during hours. After that, the ringer can be turned back on. When my child is on restriction, I take her phone away as punishment, but it causes ME anxiety, because I'm not able to know her every move. It's just as much a punishment to me than to her. My child only has a cheapo phone to stay connected. Maybe this is the problem. Parents are buying the kids these fancy, state of the art gadgets, that are beyond there needs (and sometimes affordability), just to keep up with the Jones'. Want to keep up with your kid? Get them a basic phone that does nothing more that make calls. If you need to get in touch with someone that bad, dial their number and talk. Quit this texting crap. Ridiculous.