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 🩷🩷

Horrific events can happen anywhere op. Which is why they shake people up so much because you think "that could've been me". That's not a reason to stop living your life.

I have recently taken a group of school children to London on an overnight trip (from a northern city). Everything was very well organised. When we went to the Houses of Parliament for example, we were given information to not spend time around the area because of potential protests. So we went somewhere else instead. Obviously you can’t control everything but the pupils will be as safe as possible. And the recommendations that were put in place after the Manchester arena attack has all made that as safe a venue as possible.
Terrorists goal is to enforce change by disrupting the lives of citizens and causing fear. You can’t stop your child ever being in potential danger without severely restricting his life, unfortunately. And that’s not fair.

threats made towards school children and schools

You might want to research 'Active Patriot' aka Alan Leggett, the originator of that bullshit, before you believe anything he says.

E.g.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/judge-brands-far-right-activist-racist-over-abusive-rant-o-297090/

I’ve been to Young Voices in Manchester. Security is excellent. The biggest threat is to your bank balance as they push all the merchandise all the time.

@CalmAzureMaker, do you understand that your anxiety is also not normal and definitely harmful to your children as well as to you? Making a train journey to a UK city is something people do every single day of the week and mostly it all goes fine. The worst that's likely to happen is the train being delayed because of points failure or a broken down goods train ahead, both of which have happened to me in the past. All fine in the end.

terrorism attacks being so common lately

They are not. When they do happen they are front page news precisely because they are rare.

Please let your lad go and enjoy himself.

Their anxiety is an absolutely normal reaction after a very recent incident.

It would normally fade away as time goes, and the only problem would be a prolonged anxiety. As the attack happened just a week ago, it's still fresh as a trigger.

My DC were caught up in the middle of a significant London terrorist attack while on a school trip. I still let them go again a year later. I refuse to live my life in fear of things that are very unlikely to happen.

OP, security for gigs at the Manchester Arena is really good. I can't imagine it being different for Young Voices.

My daughter went on a school trip that included the Berlin Christmas market a few years ago. I did have a moment of worry at the thought of it but reminded myself we can’t live our lives in fear.

What happened a week ago was obviously horrible for all involved, but attacks like that are (a) rare and (b) no more likely to happen on a train than anywhere else. It's really important for people to work hard at learning to evaluate risk and cope with uncertainty.

Terrorist attacks are not "common" at all, OP. You must let him go - do you want him to grow up scared of his own shadow?
Then get some treatment for your anxiety, which is a much bigger threat to your child than anything else.

Why though?? This is ridiculous! Get help with your anxiety…it’s really unhealthy and you’re going to raise anxious children. Which really isn’t fair, is it?

I cant believe the amount of rude comments on my post, i posted on mumsnet as a safe place so i could ask fellow mums not to be shot down in flames. What happened to mums supporting eachother? Also i want to make sure my child is safe on his trips, i let me child go on trips hes been on loads, and i think alot of your posts are very judgemental. The threat level for the uk on the government website is substantial meaning it is likely there will be a attack…. I dont live in a city and 2 schools by me have had to lock down due to terrorism. So yes maybe i am anxious. Anyway, thanks for all the polite posts i really appreciate them.

Ahhh that’s the difference. See I don’t want my child to be safe on school trips… you just love your child so much more than I do

I remember as a kid our local library was on a really dangerous blind corner.

My Mum used to tell me " be careful on that road, people have been killed there" as I went to the library on my own, about nine years old.

Quite the contrast.

How many of these threads are there, people claiming to be terrified all of a sudden?

Nothings changed except watching too much TikTok.

Terrorist attacks are much rarer now then when I was growing up in the 80s.

@mummysparkles95 of course you're going to be anxious. It's natural.
But.....you can't let your life stop due to worrying about "what if".
I live in London and we (Londoners) are pretty well trained in being aware of the possibility of a terror attack. If you use public transport you will hear the "See It, Say It, Sorted" phrase a million times a day.
We know not to leave bags unattended.
But we have to live our lives.
The government level of "substantial" has been at that for several years but there has actually been very few terrorist attacks.
🙂💐

Nothings changed except watching too much Tiktok

This, x100

1. Get off social media, it is clearly giving you a skewed perception of the risk.

1. Get professional help for your anxiety. It probably poses a much greater risk to your son than terrorism as things stand.

1. Let him go on the trip. He will probably have a great time.

Young Voices is one of the least likely events to be targeted. It’s private & not widely advertised outside of the schools taking part.

Where do you live that schools have had to lockdown due to terrorism?

Several local schools to me have had to lockdown but all have been things like an ex pupil on the rampage, robbery at a nearby local shop, mentally ill person brandishing a knife & a pupil of a parent making a threat against the school.

I'm sorry, but no-one is going to support you in letting your severe and illogical anxiety limit your child's opportunities in life.