Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To let my child go on a school trip to London tomorrow?

33 replies

reallybadidea · 05/06/2017 10:50

DS is in year 6 and they have a school trip to London (to one of the museum's) planned for tomorrow. My Facebook is full of other mums saying they won't be letting their children go. I can't see that it's any riskier than going anywhere else and have no problem with him going. Am I being sensible or stupid?

OP posts:
PeppaPigTastesLikeBacon · 05/06/2017 10:53

It's a hard one. I wouldn't be keen on the idea but I think that London should be pretty safe at the moment. I am assuming that the will have extra patrols with police at the moment (but this is a guess, I haven't heard anything).
I am due to go to London in a couple of weeks with work and my mum is worried about it.

I assume if a lot of parents pull there kids out then the trip would get cancelled anyway?

ShatnersWig · 05/06/2017 10:53

Good for you! I can understand some anxiety but keeping children locked up until they are 18 or only go places under parental supervision "just in case" isn't reasonable.

bigmac4me · 05/06/2017 10:54

I agree with you. Let your child go. With so many police and extra security around London will be one of the safest places to be tomorrow. hope your DS has a lovely time.

ps my disabled son went to an arena concert a few days after Manchester, with the extra security checks it was safer than it had been for years!

FrenchJunebug · 05/06/2017 11:03

I live in London. My child went to school as usual this morning. Well done you.

BabyHamster · 05/06/2017 11:08

I can't say I wouldn't be nervous about it but I hope I would let my DD go (she's not school age yet). YA definitely NBU.

It's easier said than done, but we really have to try and be rational about these things. Unless the other mothers are no longer letting their children travel in cars because of the risk of car accidents, their position doesn't really make logical sense.

juneau · 05/06/2017 11:08

London is no more dangerous tomorrow than it was a week or a month ago. Would these other alarmists have kept their kids off school then? I was in London yesterday, like millions of people who actually LIVE there. Despite what happened on Sat night there were lots of people all along the south bank, the playground near the London Eye was packed. Let your DS go. We cannot all live holed up in our homes, peeping out from behind the curtains. And if we do that now when will we consider it safe to venture out? This wave of terrorism has been going on since Sept 2001 and it will go on for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this the reality we all have to live with now.

citykat · 05/06/2017 11:10

My DC trip today was cancelled based on advice from TfL. I was happy for them to go but seems TfL don't want them to travel today.

londonmummy1966 · 05/06/2017 11:21

I live in London. My child went to school as usual this morning. Well done you.

Me too and all my friends and neighbours

Original poster
reallybadidea · 05/06/2017 13:32

Phew, glad I'm not being totally irresponsible! Apart from anything I don't want my child to think that the world is a scary place. As horrible as the terrorist attacks are, by and large, we live in a very safe country.

OP posts:
Bearcon · 07/06/2017 15:25

I'm sorry, I disagree. Would you go on holiday somewhere where there is high chance of an earthquake happening anywhere in that particular country? And it's not about letting terrorists win or staying home all day being afraid it's about sensible risk management. I was caught up in an incident where the museum we were visiting was evacuated. It was a terrifying experience. I'm quite happy to not let my child travel into high risk areas currently, there are plenty of other places we can go.

Hotheadwheresthecoldbath · 07/06/2017 15:44

Good on you,museums have been checking bags for years.
As to avoiding high risk things people are badly injured or killed every day on the roads as for terrorist attacks where is safe exactly?

MotherOfBleach · 07/06/2017 15:47

Mine is going a week today.

Some aspects have been altered, such as taking the coach from site to site instead of walking and breaking into smaller groups of seven.

We had a meeting about it at the school yesterday.

There were a small handful of vocal, hysterical parents demanding that their children be allowed mobile phone, that they have the teacher's personal phone numbers etc.

Most parents were happy with the changes made and are still allowing their kids to go.

Crispsheets · 07/06/2017 15:47

So bearcon what about people who live in London? Do we never go to work, use public transport, go to the theatre or a concert venue ever again?
Terrorism can strike anywhere.

BitchQueen90 · 07/06/2017 15:48

Bearcon it could happen anywhere in the UK though. Most likely the major cities but really anywhere. And what should the people who live and work there do? Evacuate?

I'd let my child go if it was me. We wouldn't set foot out of our own front doors if we were constantly worrying about "what if."

Roomster101 · 07/06/2017 15:57

I am a big worrier when it comes to my children's safety but as nowhere is safe at the moment, there doesn't seem much point in preventing them from going to particular places. Why avoid London in particular?

bungle99 · 07/06/2017 16:08

I think you should do what you are comfortable with. There is no right or wrong. I would struggle with letting DC go to London on a school trip but I just had to take them to hospital appt in London on train then tube, and it's been fine.
If you are your DC are ok with it then it's fine. You are not being stupid.

Rainybo · 07/06/2017 16:37

Motherofbleach I don't think it is hysterical to ask for children to have their mobile phones. If something did happen and they were split from the group, then a mobile would mean they could make contact. It's not like they all carry around 10p pieces and know where the phone box is these days.

I think it's a bit hysterical to ban mobile phones these days actually.

ThreeForAPound · 07/06/2017 16:40

If you wouldn't go to London, you probably shouldn't go to an airport, get on a train, go to any popular 'Westerner' holiday destination, vistit Paris, go to a concert etc etc....and on and on the list goes and will expand each time an attack happens somewhere new.

We can't live like that, surely? Well I won't be. And I live in London, like almost 10 million other people. So....

TestTubeTeen · 07/06/2017 16:49

But Bearcon, there is NOT a 'high chance' that anyone would be caught up in anything.

You wouldn't go on hol to a country that was experiencing definite signs on the Richter scale that that place was about to quake, no, because everyone there would be somehow affected.

But people go on holiday to San Francisco, and S Island New Zealand and Japan for holidays all the time, for example.

If you are waiting for any goods to arrive from a London company, or services from any company based in London, I hope you are all (those of you who would not come here) prepared to wait indefinitely until we all decide it is safe to go back to work.

Sallycinnamum · 07/06/2017 16:50

I heard a snippet on the news today that schools are being told to revise all plans for school trips to London. Only caught tale end of it though.

My DC school have cancelled all trips to London so the decision has been taken out of our hands.

user1490395938 · 07/06/2017 16:56

I definitely wouldn't let my child go!!!

StripyHorse · 07/06/2017 17:03

The riskiest bit is probably the coach there - but it is a risk we have come to terms with.

I had a similar conversation with someone the other day about children going on a trip in Greater London.

lovelyupnorth · 07/06/2017 17:03

i would without hesitation

BewareOfDragons · 07/06/2017 17:05

Bearcon, did you think Manchester was a high risk area before 2 weeks ago?

TheFoxInTheSnow · 07/06/2017 17:20

Really ??