reasons to go to boarding school and “loosing” your child 4 years early…
For us, older one was a day student and younger was a day to boarding. We lived in a truly excellent (by the numbers) public school system with a principle who made me sick to my stomach when he sent out emails (inept is not even scratching the surface). Also, parents would say things like “my son loves the high school, no more than 20 kids in most of his classes.” Both my kids just had a “no thank you” view of the school. Both of them were the middle school kid who excelled at everything and felt unsatisfied in middle school. Feeling like they had to suffer through another boring honors math class because the rest of the class had to learn something they had grasped already, over and over again. Of course, they could have taken all honors and APs at the LPS but they really wanted a different experience.
So I have the comparison, similar to @cinnamon1212, of having day and boarding kids in my family. I really don’t feel like I lost my kid. Honestly, I see my kid at BS as much as his friend’s parents see their son, who goes to the LPS and has a girlfriend with whom he spends every waking minute. (yes Covid has made it a weird year - I have seen a LOT more of my kids than normal but I am referencing “normal”) So, I really don’t think you loose your kid, although obviously that fear is real. Also remember that BS vacations are much longer than LPS vacations so you get a good chunk of time back.