Would you let your 11 year old travel to Japan for 10 days? -

My son has been invited on the trip of a lifetime with his karate class to go to Japan next year for competitions, training and an educational trip. Its something i could never afford and he really wants to go but I am obviously worried at the prospect of letting him go, albeit with responible adults. What do you think?

You should let him go, Japan is one of the safest places in the world with an extremely low crime rate. They are a very polite people, and parents in japan let their children go out all the time, since hes going with his team I wouldn t even worry about him being kidnapped or injured. let him go he will have a very fun time!

I would let your 11 year old son go to Japan. Japan is a wonderful place. Besides, this is a TRIP OF A LIFETIME. It might never happen again. 11 year olds are mature enough to be with responsible adults that are not parents. As long as he behaves good, you should let him go and expirience Japan. Your son will probaly also improve jramaticly when he does Karate in Japan because senseis there will teach him well. He can also make relations with the people who he competes against. Again, this is a trip of a lifetime so you should let him go. However, if you cannot afford the trip, you shouldn t let him go. He is still a 11 year old so when he becomes an adult, he can probaly afford a trip to Japan. Explain to your child the bad sides of going to Japan. He might be bored, homesick, or confused when he is in Japan. Explain how the trip to Japan on airplane will be l~o~n~g and tedious. Explain how he could get injuries during a competition or he can even be kidnapped be North Koreans who hold Japanese people as hostages. Overall, I think you should let your son go to Japan. It is a trip of a lifetime.

With the supervision of responsible adults it should be the experience of a lifetime and if he doesn t go there will always be the what ifs to think about. 10 Days isn t long, he ll have a whale of a time.

I d let him go. This is a once in a life-time chance for most people. Japan is a very safe country to visit. And I m sure he will be well looked after. BTW: JAPAN IS NOT COMMUNIST !!!!!!!!!!!

I ll first consider all the pross and cons whether the child is smart enough to travel alone and look after himself. When his whole class is going, it d be improper for u to stop him unless he himself doesn t want. In any case his instructor w d be responsible for his safety.

You must let him go and trust these responsible people you mention.Its a wonderful opportunity to visit the home of Karate.Imagine the way he will feel if he is the only one left at home when the other children return. Let him go.Imagine what it will do for his confidence,education and of course Karate.

let him go

If you happy with the people who will be responsible for him then why not - have you checked them out properly?

wow! Tough one, I think I would let him go, armed with 10 mobile phones, and 11 pound coins for the phone box, I m not sure that would calm his mother though! Also, pardon the pun, but won t you be the dragon if you refuse? Good luck.

well i am just a teen, but i would let him go. lol there will be a lot of kids who are apparently pretty good at karate, so I m sure nothing bad will happen to him :).

Let him go! he will mature and be so much more responsible, and he will have the time of his life.AND when he Returns home, he will luv you even more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For a lot of people this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I d let him go. Maybe it ll even spark his interest in other things like the culture or traveling. Japan is actually one of the safest places for children. You know parents let their 6 year olds take the train to school by themselves or with friends, because they know no one is going to mess with them. I went to Africa when I was 16 or 17. I know I was older than your son but it was a trip for college students. I loved it. I probably never would have had the chance otherwise. I remember the phone call to my mom from school quot;Hi, Mom, Can I go to Africa? -- Do I have to pay? -- No. -- Okquot; :)

It s a once in a lifetime chance, jump at it!

always trust your gut feeling, but if he may never get this chance again i would say let him go and phone him everyday!

Your worry is understandable but your son also has to step out in the world. Eleven is also the kind of age where a bit more freedom is appropriate. Like you say he will be supervised. If he goes he will remember it for a lifetime. I went to America as an eleven year old and flew alone with my ten year old friend but were escorted by airport staff at both ends. I m sure he is adult enough to cope with it all.

i would only send him if u think he could make it and make sure he will stay with his group

I would be worried too, but it is a chance in a lifetime...I would let him go!

yes u should. i was invited to go to japan for singing too but it was too expensive and we couldn t afford it at the time but personaly i think he will enjoy it but up to you, if u trust him and that he will be ok.

Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. Also, Japanese take great responcibility for their guests. There isn t a better place to go for a 11 years old that Japan

i would let him...........

If he was traveling alone, maybe not, but traveling on an educational trip with a class with responsible supervision. I don t see a problem with that. Odds are he might not be able to visit another far away country in a long while, so it might be worth for the life experience.

I would let him. I do not want him to hate me. There is no longer a safe place in this world so what is the difference of not letting him go. If I were him, I would want to go.

Yeah.

I would let him. My daughter had a trip to Poland to visit Auschwitz and I was reluctant but had to let her in the end cos she never would have forgiven me. She was fine and called me all the time from her mobile.

what you worry? safety? it safe here. not many time i will say something good about japan, but it really safe here.

do you trust the people that willl be responsible for him? as long as the answer is yes then let him go, to hold him back for any other reason than a genuine fear for his safety (and i mean other than maternal concern) would be selfish and you d end up hating yourself and he would resent you and the choice you made. if he is a good kid which is what you have raised him to be then you have nothing to worry about. enjoy the peace and quiet.

Yes. He would be exposed to a new culture, learn a respect for new things, and experience a great adventure. It will be fine because he is with a school group. 11 is a good age to travel, he s only 2 years away from being a teenager. He should start learning to become more independent and taking responsibility for himself. There are so many teenagers today that can t handle responsibility or taking care of themselves because their parents didn t start training them to do so when it was time for that lesson. It will be fine, just go over emergency numbers, important things he must do/not do while abroad, and express/talk over any other concerns.

OK I m 15, but i have been abroad a few times with my school. It was a life time experience and i loved every second of it. I m sure your son will to. It s good to learn about different cultures at such a young age. Imagine the opportunity he s being offered. I say let him go, as long as you trust who he is going with. Good luck =]

umm no considering that japan is dangerous...isn t communist? the possibilities are endless. but let him go (follow ur gut instinct). my parents didn t let me go to europe so idk.