Can you describe a scenario for me? Because I'm having a very hard time imagining one where the teenager is immediate peril (otherwise they could just unlock the phone in the next room) yet the best person to help them is not in the building. Maybe it's unfair, but it just sounds like helicopter parenting to me.
If I have my phone, they can text me with some pre-arranged message ("x"), and I will feign an emergency and get them out of the situation ASAP (or arrange for a friend to do similarly).
Sure, they could just leave (or get a taxi?), but having a GTFO script lets them exit a situation without the social losses of having been perceived as "too scared" to cave to peer pressure. They can say, "My dad just called and said something major just came up, and he's on his way to get me. Yeah, I know, parents, right? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
If their phone is locked up (or mine) there's a lot more friction to that interaction.
0: https://bertfulks.com/2017/02/23/x-plan-giving-your-kids-a-w...
Going to an event where you won't have access to your phone is maybe something you can't do while having kids of a certain age. But they'll grow up and then you can again.
It's kind of selfish to ask that no musician have this policy because you want to be able to attend any concert you wish while having young children.
Seems like bad parenting if you're knowingly putting in situations where such horrors exist that they'd need to escape them.
In that case, I would imagine the child's parents failed in teaching the values of both honesty and courage. Lying is often easier in the short term, but it leads to worse outcomes over time in all but the rarest of situations (e.g. you're hiding Anne Frank and soldiers knock at the door).
Having a great excuse is useful today, but having a spine is useful for all one's days.
Mark Twain, On the Decay of the Art of Lying (http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2572/pg2572.html)
> Surely a teenager telling white lies to pushy peers is preferable.
That's not sure by any means. In fact, the habit of telling "white lies" is almost certainly harmful in the long run. The same is true for caving to pushy peers.
If it's something that's just announced at the door, after you've bought the (generally non-refundable) tickets, no.
Imagine your teenage child attends a concert and needs to call you to escape a dangerous situation. There are so many situations of nuance that a blanket ban disrupts in a negative way.
This is a very shallow way to deal with a complicated issue.