School trips into Central London

[smellysocks]

My daughter's school is refusing to cancel a trip to the Science Museum tomorrow (12 July).
With London on its highest ever security alert is this wise? I feel that whilst its fine for us adults to take a 'don't them disrupt our lives' stance, it is a bit much for our headmistress to expect us to send our precious 6 year olds into town with out us. A large number of us are actually planning to keep the kids at home anyway, but we can't help feeling that the school is behaving irresponsibly. What does anyone else think?

but there are a million other places they can go, they don't need to go to London. I do think it is riskier at the moment than at other times.

and can anyone honestly say they wouldn't worry about them more at the moment than they would have two weeks ago?

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No, victoriapeckham, I am saying that dh or I will talk to ds and when he is more comfortable about travelling on public transport, one of us will take him on the tube (probably this weekend). Ds was very upset and scared last Thursday and as we use public transport a lot, I want to make sure he feels secure when he gets on a tube or a bus again.

I don't mean to be argumentative I really don't, but why is it more likely to somewhere else than London? And where else is it likely to be then?

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I have to say both the headmistress and one of the class teachers involved has done their best to make us concerned parents feel extremely silly for making a big fuss over this. As one of the working mums in our class pointed out, her company is offering support and even counselling to employees with any issues re: the terror attacks. However, we as mothers have been greeted with the 'you're being overprotective and so your child is missing out' line. Yet another stick to beat us with.......

DS2(5) is going to London Zoo by coach next monday, and it hadn't even crossed my mind that he shouldn't go tbh. Maybe I spent too much time working and travelling in central London whilst the IRA were having their go?

Travelling on buses and tubes makes me sad not scared.

I do agree though that if the children aren't comfortable going, they shouldn't be made to go.

This is a really hard one isn't it.

For me its full of the head versus the heart stuff!

DD was on a school trip to the house of commons 2 weeks ago and I didn't give a thought to it being risky, even although security at all times is fierce round Westminster. However, if she was going tomorrow I think I would be pretty scared!

I think I would let her go, but slightly easier to say than to do, I grant you! However, there are some important messages that would need to be discussed - i.e. its okay to be scared sometimes but its what we do with that fear that matters, bad things do happen but not all the time, there are evil people in the world but the vast majority are wonderful, lovely souls!

The reason why I think I would let her go, is that if I didn't what kind of a message would that give her of my safety day in day out. Would she start to be fearful for me? I couldn't bear for her as a child to be worrying about me - an adult!

I think you would be very safe if you were just talking delays and disruptions - I'm pretty sure you would find a corner of London to take in a coach load of children. Don't think there is much chance of them being left to wonder the streets