4th grade field trip angst

[Anonymous]

The bus ride will probably be the best part!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP defines the term helicopter parent. I seriously don't give a damn if my kid is mildly uncomfortable for a day. Its a freaking day, its school, so what. Be bored. Be unstimulated. To try to orchestrate your child's life in a way to ensure that he avoids any unpleasant experiences will only ensure that your kid will turn into a kid who Can Not Deal.

Not to mention that it might be awesome. Maybe his friend will squirt water through his nose laughing or all the kids will be shocked that their teacher entertains them with a mildly inappropriate but silly song. Maybe they will stop and watch a deer in the road or learn something cool about mountains. Maybe some kid will bring a giant bag of cola gummis and they'll all pretend to drink them or have contests to see who can suck on them the longest without giving in to the temptation to bite. And then they will talk about this stuff the next day and your kid will feel mildly left out and weird because he was home on the couch wrapped in cotton wool with mommy.

God this brings me back! I remember field trips where we had punch-buggy contests, had bus-seat puppet shows, counted how many tractor trailers we could get to honk their horns and so on. Anyone remember the song, "Three cheers for the bus driver?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP defines the term helicopter parent. I seriously don't give a damn if my kid is mildly uncomfortable for a day. Its a freaking day, its school, so what. Be bored. Be unstimulated. To try to orchestrate your child's life in a way to ensure that he avoids any unpleasant experiences will only ensure that your kid will turn into a kid who Can Not Deal.

Not to mention that it might be awesome. Maybe his friend will squirt water through his nose laughing or all the kids will be shocked that their teacher entertains them with a mildly inappropriate but silly song. Maybe they will stop and watch a deer in the road or learn something cool about mountains. Maybe some kid will bring a giant bag of cola gummis and they'll all pretend to drink them or have contests to see who can suck on them the longest without giving in to the temptation to bite. And then they will talk about this stuff the next day and your kid will feel mildly left out and weird because he was home on the couch wrapped in cotton wool with mommy.

Yesssssssasss!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bus ride will probably be the best part!!

I don't know about that. When my kids go on a field trip with a long bus ride, they are allowed to bring electronics for the ride or the buses (chartered) have DVD players. THey just spend the trip hooked up to electronics. Not a lot of goofing around.

[Anonymous]

private school?

[Anonymous]

The poco is? They have a very famous educational program for eagle watching. Maybe that's thr reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The poco is? They have a very famous educational program for eagle watching. Maybe that's thr reason.

Yes, they are going for the eagle program.

I guess my main concern is riding in a big ole bus on mountain roads. They are very windy and I remember dodging rock falls when I was young. Also wondering if the bus has seat belts.

Also I just talked to her (she is slightly slow; just learned to ride her bike last week) and she has mixed feelings. I didn't even tell her I was hesitating. She said since her capital trip was such a bust she was not looking forward to this trip. But she also wants
To be with her friends. We are all conflicted but after this week's Oprah about listening to your inner voice I am especially conflicted.

I will wait for the principal o call back and maybe talk to some other moms whose kids have gone in the past. Maybe I am overprotective but now I remember why.

Many years ago my son went on an overnight Boy Scout repelling trip. One of the boys fell to his death - his father was right there and saw it happen. We got the call about the accident and that they were coming home early, three dad before they had planned to return. I can't tell you how devastating it was to know my son was ok but how horrific it was for the other family. That kind of stuff stays with you forever.

[Anonymous]

You could get the same call about your child being hit crossing the street. Or god forbid some lunatic with a semi-automatic. That has never stopped me from letting my kids out of the house or to go to school. Honestly your child is going to find it really hard to be independent in life if you do not give them opportunities, safe ones like school trips to practice independence. These are the baby steps you need to do for both your child and frankly for yourself.

[Anonymous]

No way would I send my child on this trip. Pointless hours spent on the bus. Sleep in and do an eagle lesson at home. It is not about learning independence it's about managing time and resources. Why is school spending all this money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:private school?

I'm 12:51 -- my kids are in public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poco is? They have a very famous educational program for eagle watching. Maybe that's thr reason.

Yes, they are going for the eagle program.

I guess my main concern is riding in a big ole bus on mountain roads. They are very windy and I remember dodging rock falls when I was young. Also wondering if the bus has seat belts.

Also I just talked to her (she is slightly slow; just learned to ride her bike last week) and she has mixed feelings. I didn't even tell her I was hesitating. She said since her capital trip was such a bust she was not looking forward to this trip. But she also wants
To be with her friends. We are all conflicted but after this week's Oprah about listening to your inner voice I am especially conflicted.

I will wait for the principal o call back and maybe talk to some other moms whose kids have gone in the past. Maybe I am overprotective but now I remember why.

Many years ago my son went on an overnight Boy Scout repelling trip. One of the boys fell to his death - his father was right there and saw it happen. We got the call about the accident and that they were coming home early, three dad before they had planned to return. I can't tell you how devastating it was to know my son was ok but how horrific it was for the other family. That kind of stuff stays with you forever.

OP, what do you mean, your daughter is "slightly slow"?? What does riding her bike have to do with anything? This is sounding weird to me.

But -- assuming this is a genuine post -- it sounds like you have some generalized anxiety over the whole concept of letting your children go on a field trip, stemming from a Boy Scout trip your son took, "many" years ago. Of course the death on that trip would affect you.

I don't think though, that you have to invent possible reasons *this* field trip may be unsafe, to keep your daughter at home. I mean, you are bringing up random concerns-- "Will the bus have seat belts"? THINK about that. Is it likely the bus will have seat belts? Do school buses have seat belts? No. Do charter buses have seat belts? No, at least not usually. It isn't reasonable to expect that the buses the kids will take to the Poconos will have seat belts. And I think you are manufacturing some concern there about mountain roads being windy.

Earlier you stated that your concern was just that the field trip would be a long bus ride, and that it would be poorly run and not worth the long drive. Now you are coming up with windy roads, no seat belts, and fear of rockslides. Don't go down this road!! If you don't think it will be a valuable experience, and if your daughter doesn't really want to go -- end it right there! That's enough to say "No, thanks!"

Stop the anxious concern about the rockslides and the seat belts. because you will worry yourself into never letting her go on ay field trips if you let that anxiety make decisions for you.

[Anonymous]

By slightly slow I mean she can be kind of a whimp sometimes. Doesn't like to take risks. Not special needs or anything.

[Anonymous]

Thing is, who exactly is supervising the kids on the bus?? Hate to tell y'all, but this is the age when some of them are doing oral sex on the school buses, before and after school.
Listen to your gut here, OP.

[Anonymous]

Let her go. It's different going with a bunch of peers, your classmates, friends. It could be boring but it's part of the kid experience, growing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let her go. It's different going with a bunch of peers, your classmates, friends. It could be boring but it's part of the kid experience, growing up.

Why don't you care if your nine year old has no supervision on a 7 hour bus ride?