Joseph:
That’s a ridiculous and faulty analogy, especially unworthy of a response due to its tone (not that I expect anything better).
Brooklyn:
I’m perfectly aware of what’s at stake (though some steak sounds good as well). The phone itself and the things you can do with it (let’s assume no internet on the phone), enable harmful activities, it is not harmful in itself. The trouble a child may get into with a phone typically requires some further action on the child’s part – and that is where a parent can step in. Letting your kid get burned is a balancing act.
Admittedly, I likely have a different parenting philosophy than most here, but there are things that matter more than other things. To take Joseph’s ludicrous example, I would never let my child put him/herself in serious physical danger. Nor would I let my child seriously damage him or herself spiritually. However, as you pointed out, you cannot completely control a child’s thoughts and actions. If they harm themselves spiritually in some way, sometimes it is better to let them feel the regret and remorse – how do you learn the true meaning of teshuva if you are prevented from ever doing anything wrong? Granted, our differences probably stem from the fact that I do not view all communication with the opposite gender as inherently spiritually harmful, and that’s a large part of what this is all about I would guess.