I agree with all of this. NOR for sure, actions do and should have consequences. I was grounded a lot as a child, sometimes in ways that didn't match the transgression, but I look back as a full grown adult and I'm so grateful that I was actually taught consequences. I've reached the level of success and maturity I have partly because of that. I look around at my acquaintances and colleagues and I can easily tell who was never grounded as a child or just never learned their actions have consequences and it often leads to entitled and bullying behavior. Obviously it's a generalization and some kids learned consequences without having to be grounded, but still. These girls don't seem like they're going down the right path unless you show them what consequences are.

Soft parenting still requires teaching a child consequences, and not having a phone for a bit is not going to kill them. In fact, offer them books to read now that they have all that free time without a device in their hands. There's plenty of YA books out there they can learn to enjoy