My daughter had a tracfone from ages 12-14 and never abused it; I was very happy to be able to call her in a pinch if a.) I was not able to pick her up on time and b.) for her to call me when her walking home plans changed. We bought her the minimal minutes and she used less than that. Just this past June, her Dad got her a cell phone plan. She is quite conservative with that as well. It has been a very nice tool for monitoring her whereabouts when she is walking between school and my office, or when she is with her Dad and I need a quick answer to a schedule question or just want to say hi.

Frankly, I don't get on my bike without my phone... maybe I'm overly cautious but the world is not like it used to be.