<p>I think the problems in Mexico go far deeper than worrying if kids are drinking too much. While the resort areas may be isolated from what is happening in the rest of the country the fact remains that consulate workers were shot & killed in broad daylight with their 6 month old baby sitting in the back of their car. There is talk that military action will have to be taken to quell the unrest caused by the gangs and the drug lords.</p>
<p>So, no I would not let my kid near there…there may be just a slight chance of unrest in Cancun etc. but there are plenty of appropriate places right here and gosh knows our economy could use the lift too!</p>
<p>^^ whoa whoa whoa, let’s keep this in perspective. That consulate worker was shot in Juarez, which is a completely different part of the country. And if there’s any action taken against drug lords by the Mexican military, it will in border areas or places like Mexico City or Baja, where the drug violence has been the worst, not in tourist resorts like Nuevo Vallarte. You can read all about that in the State Department release, where it clearly says the border areas are a dangerous, it doesn’t make the whole country verboten. The only unrest in Cancun is going to happen if the bad economy keeps too many Ameircan college kids from going there to get drunk and stupid. and this girl is not going to Cancun. </p>
<p>And basically, she could be shot walking down the street in her neighborhood now. She could be drugged by an unattended drink at her college or at a high school party now. You should just impress on them the same rules as I hope you tell them for parties in the states. DON’T leave your drink unattended, even to go to the bathroom or step away for a moment. Get a new drink. Don’t accept drinks unless you’ve seen them poured. There are plenty of dangers right here in the United States, and keeping her away from a vacation in a very safe, very touristy part of Mexico won’t protect her any more than keeping her at home.</p>
<p>That would be difficult to pull off, since 18 y/o are legally entitled to purchase alcohol in Mexico. Unless the parents are going to be watching their every move 24/7, there’s a good chance an 18 y/o will have a drink in Mexico.</p>
<p>And to be realistic, a person’s drink can be drugged even it’s not an alcoholic one. Conversations about setting down a drink or making sure to see the drink being poured are essential no matter where the child goes, whether it be on vacation or anywhere else.</p>
<p>Agree with SmithieandProud! We live in Ca, a nice safe suburban area, yet we can drive 30 miles in be downtown LA… South Central and let me tell you there is violence going on there day in and day out!!! I trust my daughter, She is a senior and has only been to a couple of parties. Doesn’t like to drink and thinks the girls that do get drunk and out of hand at these parties make fools of themselves! I truly have no worries in that regard, and I have told her about open soda cans etc… never leave them out of your site, don’t accept unless opened by you…blah blah blah, but as mentioned above kids need to be aware of this at all times, not only when on vacation, but at college/high school parties as well! I deed copy and paste the horseback riding incident and forwarded it on to the family she’s going with so I believe that they are gonna forego those plans now! I’m sure I’ll hear from my daughter how intrusive I can be ha ha!! Anyway, again thanks for all the input. These are scary times everywhere but we can’t stop living because of it! Just need to be aware and make sound judgements!!</p>
<p>^^ Speaking of drinking - warn her about drinking the water too! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been to Mexico but one needs to be careful about what they eat and what they drink or they may get a revengeful visit from Montezuma. I ended up sticking with commercially produced water bottles, Coke, etc. and after one unpleasant visit brought my own food from then on! This was when driving to Guaymas to scuba dive so I could bring my own stuff. I hope the more major tourist areas and the intervening time have improved the quality of the food (including prep of the food) and water but I’ve heard stories from some recent visitors who’ve also had some similar unpleasant experiences.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t spend a dime in Mexico until those murderers are brought to justice. I hope a boycott effects tourism spending and the government arrests the thugs. A young mother, a father and a child dead and a baby survived after leaving a birthday party!</p>
<p>I remember the kids in Aruba–and that girl–its been several years–and she was a nice girl who was in the wrong place with the wrong guys…and there were parents on that trip</p>
<p>I know Mexico is NOT Aruba
and still there are too many abductions right now in Mexico</p>
<p>However–IF this is a family you know well and the girls will be well supervised, not in bars and casinos alone etc…perhaps…
depends if the family in question has the same parenting you do</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have a problem with her going. I think the resort areas are largely safe. It sounds like it will be a special way to spend her last spring break.</p>
<p>I’m with floridamom407 on this one. I hadn’t really been paying attention to what was going on in Mexico. My daughter in college was supposed to be on college trip to Mexico this week and the school canceled it at the last minute because of what is going on. Then I started paying more attention and I’m really glad the trip was canceled. We’re probably going to lose the money but I don’t care. The Today show did a piece and right now there are armed guard stationed around the hotels, it was a sobering sight. What difference does it make if parents are present, as far as I’m concerned they are in a dangerous place also.</p>
<p>You can talk about odds to me all you want. A trip to Mexico is not the same as a trip to San Francisco or New York. Our rights as American citizens do not follow us to foreign countries. I asked myself what would I do if my daughter was kidnapped and held for ransom, and that is happening to Americans. I didn’t have an answer. Who would I go to? The police aren’t in charge in Mexico, the drug gangs are.</p>
<p>It is true, you can get into trouble in any location but we’ve been warned about the dangers of traveling to Mexico. I’m not trying to tell the OP what to do. I’m just telling you if my daughter’s trip to Mexico is rescheduled she won’t be going. I’d never forgive myself if something happened when I was warned ahead of time.</p>
<p>I think some of the people are mixing up issues. You’ve already agreed to let her go with her friends and parents - that’s not the issue. And you even considered the standard hazzards of going to Mexico - theft, drinking, etc, and decided that they were minor risks. The issue is whether it’s ok to go to Mexico right now. That’s a bit more difficult but I would think that the area they are going to is relatively safe in comparision to border areas and Acapulco which I think has received specific threats - not sure?<br>
I forbid Mexico from my college d’s list of potential spring break trips - due to the drug wars and to stories I’ve heard about negligent hotels and wild partying. I also forbid Florida for the latter reason.</p>
<p>I would not let my younger kids go to Mexico on our dime, and I would ask (probably beg) my older kids not to worry us by going. I think the country is in such serious and violent chaos right now, that it’s best to stay away.</p>
<p>To Canadians and Europeans, the US looks like a violent mess in the news too. Can you imagine people outside of the US not visiting because you have violence in your news? It would be absurd of course, because you know the regular stories that hit the news about murders in the US does not at all reflect your experience of living in the US. </p>
<p>While I somewhat understand the Mexico fear, I REALLY don’t get the fear about Aruba… or very one-off isolated incidents. As if that tells you anything about the overall risk! It would be like saying “hey I heard about a plane crash…I’m never flying again!”</p>
<p>People lose perspective so quickly. They take some things in the news, sometimes singular but salient events, and extrapolate them to be high personal probability when in fact, I’m sure if we ran the numbers, the odds of you dying from violence in Mexico on vacation is less than you being mugged in your own city, or being hit by a car next week, and so on.</p>
<p>To add some perspective I looked up numbers very quickly. Assuming they are accurate, 200 american tourist have been killed in Mexico since 2004. That would be about 33 a year.</p>
<p>Sounds like a lot until you consider the fact that more than TWO MILLION Americans were tourists in Mexico…JUST LAST YEAR! A slow year I should add…</p>
<p>But lets pretend for a moment its the very conservative number of 2,000,000 tourists a year…that makes the odds of being one of the unlucky tourists in a year… 33 out of 2,000,000… so about .0000165 </p>
<p>Ridiculous to worry about this. I think one would live a life not worth living if they avoided all activities at this risk. I think it would rule out a normal everyday life in fact.</p>
<p>The media is giving Mexico a bad rap. The danger is in Mexico City and border towns, but the media presents it as “Mexico”. A good analogy would be: if you heard about crime in Detroit, would you not travel to Atlanta? Alot of folks in the northeast travel to the Yucatan (Cancun and Riviera Maya area) and there is no sign of danger there. I would think that Puerto Vallarta and it’s environs would be in the same boat - miles from the drug danger the media is speaking of.</p>
<p>Yes, I would let an 18-yr-old daughter go on a chaperoned trip to Nuevo Vallarta. It’s not the place for an “authentic Mexican experience” - it is a string of lovely resorts.</p>
<p>I would not want my son or daughter to go on a vacation to a border town, no matter the chaperone situation. Husband no longer travels to Juarez, an area where his company once had a lot of business. He used to go there fairly often, but now it is just off the list. Too dangerous.</p>
<p>Chances of something going wrong are slim. BUT, if something DOES go awry, keep in mind you are in a different country with different rules. I am sorry to say I’ve had a relative and also a friend’s son who had issues with the local Mexican police (border towns) with horrible, scary experiences. We’ve had many great vacation experiences in Mexico along the Pacific coast and gulf, primarily at popular destination points like Puerta Vallarta. Vast majority of folks in Mexico are hard working decent & honest people, but like here in the U. S. there are bad apples. Is there higher risk of something bad happening at a resort as compared to a trip to Florida, So Cal, or Hawaii? Probably not, but if something goes wrong, the consequences are something else. We pass on Mexico these days.</p>