We have a ball python and have 5 children, ages 11, 7, 6, 6, & 1. The only real risk a ball python has is they do carry salmonella, which is why our 1 year old doesn't touch the snake just yet. All of the other children love her to death and like everyone else has said, the children are more of a threat to the snake than the snake is to them. I hear the same things from my mom too...."that snake is going to escape one night and hunt down the baby and try to eat him". I think the problem is people are so uneducated on ball pythons and don't realize that they really do make excellent pets, even for children. I don't think there's ever been a case recorded of a ball python killing a human. I wouldn't even think that's possible. A lot of people get balls confused with burmese...they just hear the "python" part and assume it's one of the large constrictors. Tell your son's mother that not all snakes are bad and evil....that's what I had to tell my fiance so he'd finally let us get a snake, although now, he loves her as much as the kids and I do. And if it will ease her mind, have a locking enclosure to keep the snake in, so you know it can't escape. Good luck!