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Convincing parents to let me go to London with friends?

So, I'm 16 years old and live in Scotland, and a few of my friends are organising a trip in August to go to London for Summer In The City (YouTube convention) for two nights. The problem is, I have rather overprotective parents and although I think my dad would be more likely to let me go alone, he would be more worried about safety due to recent terrorist activity and his lack of faith in humanity in general. My mum on the other hand wouldn't be too worried about safety however she is quite overbearing and wouldn't want to see her "little baby" go on a trip without any adults. I'm not sure which parent would be best to approach first although I'm leaning towards my dad because he's far more likely to listen to reason. Does anyone have any (actually helpful) advice on how to go about this?

Reply 1

Tiger Rag

Are you actually going with friends or are you meeting friends there? And do your parents know the people you're going with?

If this was me, I'd sit down with both parents and talk to them.

Reply 2

Melli13

Yay! Love Summer In The City! Well, since I don't personally know your parents, I don't know what the best approach would be but if your gut says to go to your dad first then definitely crack him first. You also still have a long time till then so if you start trying to convince them now you'll probably get it done by then.
I don't know if these will apply to your parents but when I try to get my parents permission for something I usually do these things.
Firstly I expose them to the thing it is that I want, to show them how amazing and harmless it is and most importantly how much I love it! So for concerts I'll show them a nice, touching song by the band or for countries I'll show them scenery and cuisine and stuff. I basically talk about it to them and show it to them constantly till they get fed up with me.
When I bring up trips, I always mention the friends that I know my parents love and trust because they are most likely to feel better about letting me go with them.
And thirdly, sometimes I get dramatic and talk about the inevitability of death, how I want to live my life to the fullest and seize every oppurtunity to do what I love, how I won't let fear govern my life.
I don't know if any of this is useful, its just what works for me. But good luck though!!

Reply 3

doodle_333

Original post by Tiger Rag

Are you actually going with friends or are you meeting friends there? And do your parents know the people you're going with?

If this was me, I'd sit down with both parents and talk to them.

this ^^^

I would also go in prepared to listen to what they have to say and see if you can find a compromise (e.g. you check in every morning and every night when you get back to your hotel, they help with your itinerary etc) and make sure you don't argue or get upset or generally act immaturely about it. You are only 16 and as much as it's London it is still quite a big trip to take at your age so the most important thing is that you demonstrate you can approach it maturely. I would also have a short planning session so you can demonstrate you know what trains to get, what tubes to get, where your hotel could be etc and have considered everything. I would definitely sit with both parents at once as they'll be more likely to take you seriously and you wont have to have two arguments. Be prepared that they may not give you an answer then and there and may want to discuss it together.

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Thank you everybody for their advice! I appreciate the help, and I've taken on board everything that's been said about listening to what they have to say and planning things; the hotel, flights, distances and prices have all been worked out, I just hope they listen.

Original post by Tiger Rag

Are you actually going with friends or are you meeting friends there? And do your parents know the people you're going with?

I would be going with friends from my school, on both journeys there and back and the duration of the trip. My parents know two of the girls going and the rest of the people going are girls that take our bus that we're all friendly with.

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