Hi, Being only 15 I don't have any control over my life. I am always bound to what my parents want to do. I am blessed to go to a school where many outdoor camping/canoeing/hiking trips and service trips are offered. This year, my school is offering a trip to London. It is a week long trip with professional tour guides. For me it would be an amazing opportuinity because I want to view the world and other cultures, but being 15 I haven't reached a point where I can easily do that. My mother however is over protective and does not want me to go on this trip. She fears that something horrible will happen - such as me getting lost, terrorist bomings, just about everything. She has informed me that if I go I must ALWAYS be with a teacher. Is there a way for me to convince her to let me go to London and on other school activities? I don't want to spend every second of the trip with a teacher also, but I am willing too if it means I can go. I am feeling more responsible as I'm getting older and I somtimes resent my mother standing in my way of things I really want to do. Peace
Approach your mother maturely and do not get emotional. Calmly state the reasons you believe that she should trust you. If she has worries about outside things that you have no control over, make her the promises that she wants. Like sticking with a teacher. And don't just pay lip service, if you make her a promise, do your best to stick with it. Once you've proven yourself to her more and more, hopefully she will allow for more freedom. But as you stated, you are 15 and are under your parent's control. If your mother tells you that you may not go, even if her reasoning is unfair or irrational, you must respect her decision. Being an emotional teenager is not going to make your mother trust you any more. I wish you luck.
First of all, you're 15 and going on a school trip, most likely you will be with a teacher the whole time anyway. So let her know that. Also, being a teenager sucks, but you'll get through it. I had super strict parents too.
My suggestion is to let someone at school know that your mom is really worried about your safety on this trip. I'm sure your school is going to take extra care to make sure you're safe on the trip, and would be more than willing to talk to your mom and answer any questions or concerns she may have. Schools are obligated to protect you on trips like this, so I'm sure they'll know how to handle it. Also, your mom needs to start practicing now a little bit of letting you go because in a few years you will most likely be on your own. It's hard as a parent to accept that your children are growing up, but if she denies you an opportunity like this just because of her own, selfish fears, she is going to hurt you more in the long run. I'm with the others on here, try to be as level headed and unemotional about it as possible when talking to your mom. I bet if she is assured by your school that you'd be kept safe on the trip, she would be more willing to let you go. Also, if there's a way you could call home often while on the trip it would assure her more. My parents never traveled outside of the US, and haven't even made it out of the Midwest and Southern parts of the country. I think people who haven't done a lot of traveling tend to have a lot of unreasonable fears about it, especially if they have kids and watch the news - what they don't realize is the kids that go missing on trips are usually very isolated incidents, it's just really hyped up because it's on the news. I know my mom and stepdad are grappling with a lot of anxiety about my sister spending a semester overseas next Spring, and they know I have dreams of traveling to Central and South America and my mom was even weird about me visiting a friend a few states away after I graduated high school. It's a normal fear to want to protect your children from anything, but at the same time they have to get over it someday because you can't keep your kids locked up forever. Best of luck to you, I hope you get to go on the trip!
Is this going to cost her a significant amount of money? Because that could be in the back of her mind. If so, one way to show her how responsible you are might be to suggest a way you can work for it (taking on more responsibilities around the house, etc).
