Field Trips

[Anonymous]

I thought preschool field trips were annoying. K on are awesome until they get to 4th or 5th and they are going 2-4 hour drives (depending on traffic). Oh and forget the day trip to Philly. My kid would be vomiting the whole way back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought preschool field trips were annoying. K on are awesome until they get to 4th or 5th and they are going 2-4 hour drives (depending on traffic). Oh and forget the day trip to Philly. My kid would be vomiting the whole way back.

Try ginger chews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Also, your fourth grader should know what to do if for some reason the group leaves her behind. Go to someone who works there and tell them. With just that piece of information, she should be safe.

My 4th grader knows very well what to do if she gets separated from her group. That's not the issue at all. The issue is that she is so independent that she won't even realize she's not with her group for a very long time and won't panic when she realizes she not (which is good that she doesn't panic, but bad that it's not a concern to her). She will continue to read and "enjoy" whatever is going on around her. The flip side is that I've watched chaperones completely zone out or talk to other chaperones non-stop and basically ignore the kids and never look to see if the group is together for a very long time. This combination is unsafe to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really, what do you think is going to happen to them?

4th grader - walk off with a stranger who is talking to her about whatever they are looking at; inappropriate encounter with a stranger
1st grader - physical harm considering his complete fearlessness of heights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You believe no one can watch your kids as good as you and therefore are looking for problems - and you will find them. Sure RARE mistakes happen. If you want your kids to miss out because the reward doesn't outweigh the risk to you/them, then you know what to do.

Pretty sure this isn't it - lol. My kids have been in a home daycare since they were 6 weeks old. I have many friends who I leave my kids with overnight, for long weekends, and to go on outings/play dates with all of the time. We get babysitters regularly to go out with friends or on date night. They spend a month away in the another state (1000 miles away) in the summer with my parents. I trust plenty of people with my kids. Just not the parents I've seen on field trips!

And I agree that I know what to do, hence the reason I stated clearly in my OP that I won't be changing my mind, at least not this year, but was just curious of what other's thought about the safety of field trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You believe no one can watch your kids as good as you and therefore are looking for problems - and you will find them. Sure RARE mistakes happen. If you want your kids to miss out because the reward doesn't outweigh the risk to you/them, then you know what to do.

Pretty sure this isn't it - lol. My kids have been in a home daycare since they were 6 weeks old. I have many friends who I leave my kids with overnight, for long weekends, and to go on outings/play dates with all of the time. We get babysitters regularly to go out with friends or on date night. They spend a month away in the another state (1000 miles away) in the summer with my parents. I trust plenty of people with my kids. Just not the parents I've seen on field trips!

And I agree that I know what to do, hence the reason I stated clearly in my OP that I won't be changing my mind, at least not this year, but was just curious of what other's thought about the safety of field trips.

Per most of the replies, I think your case is specific to you because of the way your kids are. Most of the other parents don't feel this way.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're so confident in your decision, why do you care what other people do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a 1st and 4th grader and I'm also pretty prone to worry but I have never thought of this particular worry before. They fear being left behind, so they are never left behind. I don't lose them when we're out because they purposefully keep up with me. Your kids are either choosing to take off or choosing not to care if the group is leaving.

I don't lose them when we're out either because I ensure they keep up. You're sort of right about my 4th grader. She doesn't actively choose to not to care if the group is leaving, but I've watch her in museums. She just start reading the signs and goes from one to the other and doesn't realize the group is walking away. Most kids don't read every sign they come to; hell, I don't read every sign I come to so I get why the parents wouldn't expect that and watch out for her. She does and gets very engrossed in the experience. The group will wander away and she'll be standing there and not realize it. So, I guess she is choosing not to care, but I don't think it's an active choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You believe no one can watch your kids as good as you and therefore are looking for problems - and you will find them. Sure RARE mistakes happen. If you want your kids to miss out because the reward doesn't outweigh the risk to you/them, then you know what to do.

Pretty sure this isn't it - lol. My kids have been in a home daycare since they were 6 weeks old. I have many friends who I leave my kids with overnight, for long weekends, and to go on outings/play dates with all of the time. We get babysitters regularly to go out with friends or on date night. They spend a month away in the another state (1000 miles away) in the summer with my parents. I trust plenty of people with my kids. Just not the parents I've seen on field trips!

And I agree that I know what to do, hence the reason I stated clearly in my OP that I won't be changing my mind, at least not this year, but was just curious of what other's thought about the safety of field trips.

Per most of the replies, I think your case is specific to you because of the way your kids are. Most of the other parents don't feel this way.

I agree. That's what I was curious about. I know there are parents that feel the way I do (posted about parent of teenager that overheard me talking about this and agreed with me) and I have a friend who has a son similar to mine that feel that way about him, but doesn't worry about her other kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you're so confident in your decision, why do you care what other people do?

Why do you think I care about what others do? I was very upfront in my OP stating that I'm not going to change my opinion on the situation, but was curious if others were concerned about the same thing or not. My feelings on the issue don't change because of other parent's feelings. I was just curious about what those feelings were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a 1st and 4th grader and I'm also pretty prone to worry but I have never thought of this particular worry before. They fear being left behind, so they are never left behind. I don't lose them when we're out because they purposefully keep up with me. Your kids are either choosing to take off or choosing not to care if the group is leaving.

I don't lose them when we're out either because I ensure they keep up. You're sort of right about my 4th grader. She doesn't actively choose to not to care if the group is leaving, but I've watch her in museums. She just start reading the signs and goes from one to the other and doesn't realize the group is walking away. Most kids don't read every sign they come to; hell, I don't read every sign I come to so I get why the parents wouldn't expect that and watch out for her. She does and gets very engrossed in the experience. The group will wander away and she'll be standing there and not realize it. So, I guess she is choosing not to care, but I don't think it's an active choice.

You really need to work on this with her. It is simply not safe for her to have no awareness what's happening around her. You keep focusing on WHY she's not paying attention (she loves to read!!!) when you should be focusing on changing her habits.

Until she's better about it I still think you should request she has a buddy on trips so there is specifically one person who says, "Come on Fiona, we need to go now." or else can say, "Ms. Charles, Fiona is just went over to the other displays instead of following the docent."

[Anonymous]

Buy a leash and send your child to school with it on the day of the field trip! Apparently, your special children need to be on a leash.... or they need to be scared straight by getting lost for a short period of time. Your choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a 1st and 4th grader and I'm also pretty prone to worry but I have never thought of this particular worry before. They fear being left behind, so they are never left behind. I don't lose them when we're out because they purposefully keep up with me. Your kids are either choosing to take off or choosing not to care if the group is leaving.

I don't lose them when we're out either because I ensure they keep up. You're sort of right about my 4th grader. She doesn't actively choose to not to care if the group is leaving, but I've watch her in museums. She just start reading the signs and goes from one to the other and doesn't realize the group is walking away. Most kids don't read every sign they come to; hell, I don't read every sign I come to so I get why the parents wouldn't expect that and watch out for her. She does and gets very engrossed in the experience. The group will wander away and she'll be standing there and not realize it. So, I guess she is choosing not to care, but I don't think it's an active choice.

You really need to work on this with her. It is simply not safe for her to have no awareness what's happening around her. You keep focusing on WHY she's not paying attention (she loves to read!!!) when you should be focusing on changing her habits.

Until she's better about it I still think you should request she has a buddy on trips so there is specifically one person who says, "Come on Fiona, we need to go now." or else can say, "Ms. Charles, Fiona is just went over to the other displays instead of following the docent."

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a 1st and 4th grader and I'm also pretty prone to worry but I have never thought of this particular worry before. They fear being left behind, so they are never left behind. I don't lose them when we're out because they purposefully keep up with me. Your kids are either choosing to take off or choosing not to care if the group is leaving.

I don't lose them when we're out either because I ensure they keep up. You're sort of right about my 4th grader. She doesn't actively choose to not to care if the group is leaving, but I've watch her in museums. She just start reading the signs and goes from one to the other and doesn't realize the group is walking away. Most kids don't read every sign they come to; hell, I don't read every sign I come to so I get why the parents wouldn't expect that and watch out for her. She does and gets very engrossed in the experience. The group will wander away and she'll be standing there and not realize it. So, I guess she is choosing not to care, but I don't think it's an active choice.

You really need to work on this with her. It is simply not safe for her to have no awareness what's happening around her. You keep focusing on WHY she's not paying attention (she loves to read!!!) when you should be focusing on changing her habits.

Until she's better about it I still think you should request she has a buddy on trips so there is specifically one person who says, "Come on Fiona, we need to go now." or else can say, "Ms. Charles, Fiona is just went over to the other displays instead of following the docent."

Again, I agree. We do work on it with her, but I don't think it will change overnight. Everyone's kid has something they are "working on" with them and this is ours. We almost literally don't have to "work on" anything else with her - school work, chores, manners, etc. She's a pretty easy kid except for this.

I also think it's odd that several parents have suggested a "buddy." You really think it should be the other classmates and not the chaperones that have the responsibility to ensure everyone is staying with the group. If I have to my trust in a 4th grader to keep track of my daughter I tap out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, how many kids do you think go missing on field trips? I know it's happened, but how often does it happen?

Yes, I know, once is scary enough, but the school shootings haven't stopped you from sending your kids to school; 9/11 hasn't stopped you from flying; car crashes haven't stopped you from driving.

This.

OP, is there a valid reason why your kids can't be trusted to stay with the group on field trips? I've supervised quite a few field trips.. my kids are now 14 and 24. Those who couldn't/wouldn't stay where they were supposed to were put in a smaller group and if necessary had to hold someone's hand. When they got to be too old for that sometimes they weren't allowed to go unless a parent or EA could go with them.