Help!? School trips and terrorist attacks

[mummysparkles95]

My son is 10, he is due to go on a school trip to london for 3 nights next year and his school is also invited to go to young voices in manchester arena in the next couple of months, my anxiety us through the roof, with terrorism attacks being so common lately and threats made towards school children and schools, it seems like a easy target and im thinking about not letting him go, but theb i also feel so selfish and mean making him miss out, does anyone else feel the same or if you was in my position would you let him go? Thanks 🩷🩷

...with terrorism attacks being so common lately and threats made towards school children and schools

Sorry, what? Terrorism attacks have not become common lately. There are, if anything, fewer than there used to be. And I've not heard of any threats to school children and schools.

Apx 2 million children LIVE in London! Yet you're fretting about your child going there for three days?

You really do need to get a handle on your anxiety.

She does need professional help. If she is suffering anxiety in the way and to the extent that her OP seems to suggest, that is far beyond the bounds of normal.

My Mum has lived all her life with crippling anxiety but unfortunately never got any help with it. She's in her 90s now so when she was a child effective treatments would have been few and far between, and beyond the means of her parents before the NHS anyway. She could have had medication and therapy in adult life but sadly didn't believe it was anything to bother the doctor with.

It is not healthy for children to grow up watching their mother pacing the floor and wringing her hands, unable to concentrate on anything else, because she is so terrified that their father has crashed the car, when all that's happened is that he's 5 minutes later than he normally is.

Fortunately for my brother and me, Dad was very good at reassuring Mum and calming her down, and our lives were not restricted by her groundless fears. If she'd been a single Mum it would have been very different, I think.

There's a genetic component to anxiety, but it's something that definitely can be treated. Why would you want to live with it if you didn't have to?

Stop watching the news. It’s bad for you.

It won’t be the actual news though; it’ll be random TikTok videos.

If you stop living a normal life and doing the things you want to do, then the terrorists have won haven't they.

The risk is miniscule. Crossing the road or driving a car has more risk and you do that without fear.

Let him go. London is an amazing and wonderful place. Young Voices is a great experience. Let him experience these things.

Have a look at statistics. Hes a greatest risk in tye car on the way to school, not at an event.

London has had less than a dozen serious terrorist attacks in the last two decades, none in the last five years. Manchester much less. I don't think any terrorist attack in the UK has ever been specifically targeted at schoolchildren.

I think you should have a think about where you are getting your information from, because it is not accurate and it is certainly not helping you.

Also (genuinely) have a chat to your GP about your worries.

I think this is often the crux of it. Not only is there rolling 24 hour news about every event, but there is also a huge amount of discussion and swapping of forensic detail on social media.

I do completely relate to your anxiety OP, as stuff like this goes through my head too. But the difference is that I recognise it as catastrophising and have learned to put a lid on it. The thoughts do spiral around inside my head, but I don’t let them stop my children from going places. A certain amount of worry is natural but if it’s taking over, you need to get some help with it. I feel for you though and don’t think that some of the harsher, more rudely expressed comments here are particularly helpful.

I completely understand, I would be in 2 minds. And absolutely frantic if I were you.
send hugs.
we need to go on the train to Southampton this month and I’m already a bit worried…

It's not terrorist attacks but attacks in general that would concern me the risk is low but your anxiety is understandable when its your child not a stranger my teenage son went to london for the day i was low level anxious all day not because I thought something would definitely happen but because if it did I wouldn't be there to protect him (he is bigger than me 😆) its a natural instinct as a parent but you also need to let your child go or you will feed your anxiety and make him anxious too

I live in Manchester. We’ve had 4 terrorist incidents that I can remember in 30 years. My kids went to school here. We go to London regularly. The risk of being involved in a terrorist attack in either location is infinitesimally small. This is a ‘you’ problem and as other posters have said, turn off wherever you are getting your ‘news/facts’ from and get some assistance for your anxiety- which is more of a risk to your son. Growing up with an over anxious mother is likely to impact his life far more than doing normal things that millions of children do week in week out.

I completely understand, I would be in 2 minds. And absolutely frantic if I were you.

Why though? Millions of us live in London and go about our daily lives without living in constant fear.

It’s been a while since there has been a thread started about terror attacks on schools.

Clearly someone thought it was time for another one.

There have however been multiple threads and posts in the past week alone about how terribly unsafe the UK/London is and how people are frightened to travel here. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.

Go visit your GP and get help for your anxiety before you cause major mental health issues to your children.

There hasn't been a terrorist attack in London for about 8 years 🤷

Five years ago in Streatham.

I very much doubt OP wants to make a forensic distinction between terrorist and other types of attack.

Don’t be daft 🤣

I wouldn't say terrorist attacks are common.

But please let him go. I was the child who wasn't allowed to do things because dm had fears and I remember far more the misery of not being allowed to go than the joys of those I did go on.

It's not just the actual trip. It's the chat beforehand, and the shared experience and the talking about it afterwards.

So 20 million people in the London area at any one time

two hundred may be involved in a serious incident - murder, terrorist etc - in a year

the bigger risk is travelling to London or Manchester especially by car

What's so funny? 🤷‍♀️ Every time I was going on a train from Peterborough, I thought the place was a total sh*thole.

Yes, the way people drive these days is borderline terrorism, methinks.

Your lack of critical thinking skills, inability to ensure you consume a balanced news diet and mental incontinence will almost certainly do more damage to your son than any terrorist attack.

I live near Streatham and I had completely forgotten about that one.
Apologies.