<p>That was lovely.</p>
<p>Gouf</p>
<p>I could turn this around and ask</p>
<p>" What kind of parent needs anything more than 13 years to give their kids a solid grounding and path and send them in the right direction?" </p>
<p>I could take the view that if you really think you are making a difference with kids in terms of who they really are/ will be when they are 13/14 or older you are probably too late and have not done a proper job with them when they were younger.</p>
<p>Lots of religions seem to think that by age 13 or so you are ready to be an adult. Kids used to get apprenticed off at a young age, and it was not all bad.</p>
<p>One could also argue that the modern view of adolescence/ childhood dragging on until 18 or older is silly.</p>
<p>I don’t however necessarily hold these views, but we let our son go to BS.</p>
<p>Some kids are ready to start to stand further away from us at different ages. </p>
<p>Every kid, parent, family and situation is different.</p>
<p>We let our son go to BS for several reasons</p>
<p>1) he was ready and looking for more intellectual/ educational challenge that he was likely to get at our local PS. It was/is a very good school but the loons running it are taking it in a direction we don’t particularly agree with and are making a hash of it in ways that we don’t think will play out well.
2) He wanted to go and see if he could hold his own against a higher level of challenges and kids
3) He wanted to take the chance and try something new. He went knowing he can always come back if he wants
4) We had enough trust in him to feel that he does not need us to be there for daily decisions. </p>
<p>THis may or may not apply to all kids, but it worked for us.</p>
<p>Do we wish i could have him home and not lose all the things we had as a family? Of course</p>
<p>Do we miss him terribly, of course</p>
<p>Is it harder in some ways, of course.</p>
<p>But in the end, he is happy there, overjoyed he went, and truly in love with learning in ways that make any of the losses and pain worthwhile. </p>
<p>Hopefully this will help you better understand the choices we (and others) have made.</p>
<p>Gouf78-
I think my daughter and I have become closer since she’s been at boarding school, perhaps because I’m not nagging her to do her homework, click off Facebook or clean her room. We talk on the phone 4-5 times a week and have better conversations than we did at home. Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be at her school for her soccer game, then I’ll bring her and two friends home for the rest of the weekend.</p>
<p>We boarding school parents might answer your question the way you would if asked why, if you love your child and want to stay close to her, you’d send her off to public school instead of home schooling her.</p>
<p>Boarding school is not for everyone, but for some it can be a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>^ Glad we have your experience on this one.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>pwalsh: You aren’t listening very closely. None of our kids were sent away. Where do you get that notion? Not one was forced, and the schools do a very good job of making sure the applicant wants to go to BS. In fact, they are testing to see how badly the student wants to attend. For as long as you’ve been hanging out here, I’d think by now you would have picked that up. Instead, you cling to false stereotypes and misinformation.</p>
<p>Fortunately, whatever you believe about BS, true or not, you will be free to make your own decisions about your own kids when the time comes, and no one here will pass judgement on you whatever you decide is best for them. If you believe BS is harsh, then BS will not be an option you entertain. The way you continue to hang out on the prep school parents forum, however, leads me to believe that you really want to become one of us someday. ;)</p>
<p>Furthermore, pwalsh: Why, if you believe that kids shouldn’t go away to boarding school, so you waste so much time (yours AND ours) on this board? I know, I said I would just ignore your posts, but I just couldn’t resist. Last time, I promise.</p>