I came back to UK. My daughter got picked on for her US accent, the other two grew up here. Now she sounds as Northern as everyone else and they never feared going to school.

It’s very sad that such a thing is considered to be necessary....and let’s hope their efficacy is never put to the test. I’m just thinking of my two grandsons, in England, going back to school, and thankfully not having to worry about such things. My heart goes out to you and your boys.

The best way to get them over their fear of school shootings is to teach them a little about statistics. It is good for them to know how very safe they are from shootings. Only 1kid out of every 10,000 kids will die from a gun related injury. So take three boxes of cheereos and color one single cheerio blue. Promise them a prize if they are lucky and pick the blue one. Then mix all the cheerios up in a giant bowl have them close their eyes and pick a cheerio from the 10,000 at random. Have them redo it over and over and they will quickly realize it isnt going to ever happen and they will be mad at you for making it seem impossible. Thats how safe your kids are from gun violence on average across the usa.

Make sure you write it off your taxes even if you have to write it in. If you get audited make the IRS explain why and then as the person how they protected their children.

Bulletproof backpacks. WTF is going on?

I belong to a group called Mom's Demand Action. We are affiliated with Everytown for Gun Safety. You may have a chapter of one near you.

We advocate for sensible gun laws. We provide statistics to underpin our cause and the need for universal background checks at all places that sell guns. We also oppose the sale of military style weapons and accessories like bump stocks that convert a regular gun into a rapid of fire weapon.
Before letting your children play at a friend's house, have a conversation with the parent(s) that includes asking if there are any guns in the home. If so, are they accessible? Recognize that teens can be very emotional and self-harm when teased or over a relationship.

We are awash in guns in the US. Per capita we have more guns in circulation than any other country. No more 'thoughts and prayers - we need action and legislation.

We wan't to make sure that legal guns are stored safely so that children

My children have no problem with going to school. They are excited.

I have issues with this. #1 it's our job as parents to shield and protect our children. They have no business being subject to adult things. #2 Since there are some people that like fearmongering and including their children in on adult matters, have you explained to them that they have more of a chance being killed by a drunk driver? Did you also explain to your children how all the mass shootings happen in gun free zones? Because those are facts.

As Shadow said if it makes your kids feel safer it's well worth the cost.
But, as dahermit points out the likely hood of being in a mass shooting is minuscule. There's a graph that shows it ranking at the bottom of causes of deaths.
IMO the 24 hour news/political cycle is the cause of all this needless fear. News shows are repetitive horror shows. The over exhaggerate the things that happen just to make a buck.

If the kids feel safer, well worth $100
best defence is that there are tens of thousands of kids in school and only a handful get shot - not much consolation if you are one of the few

I'm not to that point but I have experience that tells me you can do everything and still end up in a really crappy situation. I was a witness to a shooting in my own apartment. The person died, the shooter is in prison for life. That's all I'll share on that for the moment but the horror of that moment lives with me forever. I HATE how easy it is to get guns and that these shootings are happening and that our children have to be aware of them and have lockdown drills. My oldest told me of a discussion her class had on what they would do if a shooter came in, how they would try to go out the back because they're in a weird section kind of off the main part of the school. I HATE HATE HATE that they even have to discuss this. My work has training we go through in the event of a workplace shooting. That triggered my PTSD massively. I don't even want to think about what I would do if we have a lockdown drill at work. I found out ahead of time when my college had one and made sure not to be there that day. Nope nope nope. My oldest daughter is the same age as the Sandy Hook children. I was homeschooling her at the time it happened but it shook me to my core. What will this do to the psyche of our children? And seriously, it would not surprise me if at some point, when these kids come of age to vote and be in office, there will be a reckoning. They'll remember this and remember that we did nothing about it.

A way to physically block a door from being opened may be a better solution. These devices are not very expensive and would likely give your son and friends more of a sense of empowerment if they had a fund raiser to buy them for all classes, or went before the school board to ask for funds than being bought a device even they know is useless.

And if the windows in the doors are not bullet proof be sure to insist that some sort of bullet proof material is installed.

That is ever so sad. Only in war zones do kids need bulletproof stuff.

They would have to wear them full time. Don't they put them in their lockers when they get to school? Kids usually don't get shot on their way to and from school.

There is still time to return them and get your money back.

I wouldn't think too much about it, the odds are incredibly small, and you can never make anyone "Safe" in America.

I don't want you having false hope but those hundred dollar bullet proof vest are not Bulletproof... You can purchase a bulletproof vest at pawn shop take the shield out of it and feed it to your child's backpack...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but "bullet proof" is sort of a relative term. It depends on how the backpack is actually constructed, carried, and what caliber of bullet it is designed to stop. There are many different types of body armor, ranging from simple Kevlar to reinforced ceramic plates. The more protection you have, the more it will weigh and for a child this is a limiting factor.

A quick google search reveals that there are a lot of products on the market that makes claims like "designed to stop bullets from 95% of gun related homicides". Although I am not sure where they get their statistics, I do know that handguns are the cause of the overwhelming majority of homicides and most commonly used in school shootings.

Level IIIA is rated to stop 357 Magnum rounds, however there are some modified rounds that can puncture it. It will stop 9mm, 40cal, and 45 cal. ( basically all handguns )

Level III is designed to stop rifle rounds, but not all types will stop all rifle rounds. You will have to do your research.

Level IV is the military grade body armor and will stop direct hits from a 30 caliber AP bullet fired at close range. It's also heavy, consisting of many composite layers of protection.

The bottom line is this: In theory, a backpack could be designed to stop any conventional bullet. However, cost and weight are limiting because more protection = more weight. All this being said, kevlar does tend to be a strong and hardy material, so if you are used to spending $20 - 30 every other year, it may be worth it in the long run regardless of bulletproof properties, if you can get a 3-5 year life out of it.

A bulletproof backpack? Frankly speaking, this is the first time I've heard about it. I bought my daughter a backpack from [ariana-grande-merch.com] . And as for the fact that it is necessary to increase security in schools - it is impossible not to agree with this. There must be security at the school. The main duty of security in educational institutions in a situation of shooting, explosions, smoke or earthquake is to organize the exit of all people from the building. Evacuation is the first stage of the work. This will definitely help save a large number of lives.

Why didn't you buy them bulletproof vest instead.

Pretty useless. Most people are shot in the chest.

Out of curiosity, how much do they weight??