The harrowing reality for some parents.
American parents have now taken to buying their children bulletproof backpacks in a bid to protect them against school shooters.
Since the beginning of August this year alone, there have been twelve mass shootings in the United States.
Since the Columbine High School shootings 19 years ago, American schools and colleges have upped their security measures but that has not stopped the wave of similar shootings that followed.
Since 2013 there have been more than 142 school shootings in the United States and the fear for parents sending their children to school is at an all-time high.
Now American parents have taken to investing in bulletproof bags to try and prevent their children from being injured or killed should they find themselves being fired upon.
The ProShield II Bulletproof Back Pack is one of the many bulletproof bags I found when searching for one online.
Many companies are getting in on the tragic trend, with even designer bags being made available with kevlar inlays.
Parents are also able to buy bulletproof inserts which can be placed inside their child's preexisting backpack.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfY16vbnTQ6/?tagged=bulletproofbackpack
The backpacks also come with a manual on how to use it in the case of a school shooting and show you the best ways to shield yourself from an attack.
It's hard to imagine here in Ireland where school shootings are non-existent having to go to such drastic measures to keep our children safe but for many parents, shootings aren't an irrational fear, they're a reality.
There have been recent
articles on parents sending their children to school with doorstops so they can block a door and stop the shooter getting into their classroom and another viral post on a little girl telling her mother she can't wear her light-up runners to school as they might give her away if she has to hide.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlujGxzgw87/?tagged=bulletproofbackpack
Many of these school bags are already sold out as parents stock up for September but are they really the answer to the issue of mass shootings in schools?
Protests have happened all across the States this year calling for better gun control but many feel that their cries are falling on deaf ears.
On one Facebook post, someone left the chilling comment ' if they won't deal with gun control after Sandy Hook, they never will.'
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting happened six years ago in 2012 in which 20 children between six and seven years old and six adult staff members were fatally shot.
As a parent, my biggest worries when my son started school was if he would be anxious and at worse if he would be bullied.
I can't imagine worrying that I might send my child into school and then never see them again.
There seem to be no real answers to how the problem of school shootings is going to be dealt with in the States and until there is it's being left up to parents to provide the protection for their children themselves.
