Do you raise your children in London? Are you scared?

[novadandypowder]

With all the news reports of shootings and stabbings, my DH mentioned to me last night that he's having second thoughts about raising our 2 dc's in London. We've both lived here for over 10 years and have a dd 2.7 and ds 15mnths. I would like to think my DH is over-reacting, and I do love this city most of the time, but I must admit, I'm a bit scared now too.

How do you feel about it?

It is already illegal AFAIK, but as usual, no enforcement, no consequences.

maybe we could petition it to be really made illegal?see a dog, it gets taken away....but yeh, I can imagine that it would be pretty difficult to police.

In my area of South East London, I have definitely seen a lot more people with dangerous dogs - in the last six months or so, and witnessed a nasty, unprovoked attack by a big dog on a small (non dangerous) dog this weekend.

Knife crime is definitely not media led hoo ha.
This weekend, together with the reported deaths, there were fourteen non fatal attacks. And this figure doesn't even touch on the knifings that were not reported to the police.

I'm not suggesting that problems don't exist here - knives and dogs being a couple of the high profile ones. But I do think that we have been led into a culture of fear and the risks for our kids are statistically not higher than 50 years ago (the knife crime is a modern expression of a kind of aggression that has existed pretty much for ever in teenage/adolescent life - haven't you all read Lord of the Flies?). I'm really proud of my ds but he has lots of teenage flaws too - he's a smart kid but he wants his independence and striking that balance can be hard. I was the same when I was his age - I grew up in middle class, safe Canberra, Australia. I was sexually assaulted by a gang of teenage thugs from my school, I was chased and managed to escape from someone trying to abduct me in a lovely rural park close by to my home, I was more scared than I have ever been in a late night taxi ride with a lunatic taxi driver who had a violent porn novel on his front seat. Luckily I got out of that one too. In Hackney - where I live - crime figures (including street and knife crime) are consdirably down from 4 years ago. Bring your kids up whereever you like, we are all entitled to make our own choices, but don't run scared from London - the things we fear can happen anywhere, and we create the children we are proud of through love, patience and dedicated parenting not location.

oh, and disney - "there is no drugs or violence in the area i live at all"? Really?? I hate to suggest you are being unrealistic but how can you say that? Do you know the private lives of everyone in your area? You know more kids and adults are killed every year as a result of domestic violence than anything we encounter on the streets. And there are plenty of nice, friendly, respectable white collar people out there with big fat well-resourced drug habits.

I so agree with Morloth!!! If you own a dog: pick up the crap!!! Otherwise, get your need-for-a-furry-companion rocks off by owning a cuddly furry TOY!

I live in ne London & have done so all my life (other than a few years away studying) - i passionately love-hate it, i suppose. ds is now 4 and it is still nice to go out for a meal, visit a museum etc. however, i worry about him a lot as he is v sensitive and basically not tough enough to survive in london at secondary level (some people manage to fake it and make it through anyway). besides the provision for boys from 11 onwards is beyond awful here across the board. my dilemma is that i cannot find anywhere to go that will tick all the boxes - looked closely at surrey but was put off by lack of multiculturalism mainly, now considering parts of herts. nursery is not going v well atm (there are loads of feral boys running amok - every day ds comes home with yet another suspicious bruise and i actually witnessed him being hurt today when i dropped him off (the teachers later reported that this happened again later on). it is at times like this that none of the central london attractions can compensate for the damage that might be taking place to his self-esteem.

I have lived in SE London for 23+ years and have not yet been a victim of any crime (apart from us being burgled a few years ago while we were away on holiday)

I don't worry about my primary-aged children, but having read the thread, I am beginning to worry about how careful they will have to be as teenagers. Both are quite street-wise, but you never know....

We have no intention of moving as we love it here, "living the dream!"

I think Disney, that bullying is not confined to the state sector.
I live in SW London- grew up in large northern industrial city. I could not imagine living in the country/by the sea- nice in summer, deathly quiet and dull in the winter months.
I don't consider myself to live "in " london- don't particularly like going into town, mainly because I can't stand all the tourists!

I live in East London and have lived here all my life, no not scared because I think those things can happen anywhere tbh.
I like that we are central to everything and my kids have lots to keep them occupied.

I love London and can't think of anywhere I Would prefer to bring up my children. I also grew up in london as did my parents and my dh's parents and I think that we are so lucky to live here. Obviously I fear stabbings but no more than I would if I were elsewhere in the country. Luckily we have good schools so not concerned on those grounds but wouldn't live anywhere else in the UK. When I travel for work I breathe a sigh of relief when the train pulls into the london stations

I am in the same situation! I have the choice of a three bedroom new build house in rural kent where I have my sister 10 mins down the road (pregnant with 4th child), a ok primary school 10 mins drive local high street 10 mins drive but only problem i don't drive but partner does. No option of work for him as yet either and work we have been told can be few and far between. I have a 8 year old son a 6 year old daughter who's having a few issuesin her school now (emotional and behavioural) of which school has invested alot of time into with support and a three year old son with moderate to several hearing loss with not much on offer to him ie drop in, groups in kent as there are in London. I wouldn't have the support of my partners family either. So given.everything there do i stay in London with children's great school, family, friends, benefits for my deaf son and wait to be housed in a three bed flat with pissy lift or take a new build three bed house with garden in kent???? Maybe easy for.some to make that decision but I hand on heart don't not know what to do and beginning to make myself feel ill over it all