> 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.

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.

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