Most people have probably never considered what life is like for children and teens who attend a boarding school rather than a traditional school.
Basically, a boarding school is one where the students not only go to school on campus but they also live on campus in a dormitory setting. It is sort of like college for younger students. Can you imagine being six or seven years old and living not with a family but instead with several other kids your own age? Each child either has a room of their own or perhaps shares a room with another child around their same age. Every boarding school has house parents or dorm parents that bring supervision to the children and teens and that provide parent-like comfort and safety.
Many young children cannot even handle going away from home for a week of summer camp. Children who attend a boarding school must learn quickly how to adjust to life without parents because they rarely get to go home and see their families throughout the year. Often children begin attending boarding school at the beginning of their schooling and they remain in boarding school until they complete high school. Some may go home for a Christmas holiday or for a visit in the summer months, but rarely do boarding school students have consistent interaction with their families.
Why would parents send their children to a boarding school? That is a legitimate question that has many answers. Some parents that work overseas or that travel frequently choose to put their children in boarding school because they know how inconsistent they will be in parenting or in providing for the needs of their kids. Other parents choose boarding school for their children as a way for them to experience more of the world and to learn how to interact with diverse people from a young age. Still other parents put their children and teens in boarding school if they are having trouble disciplining their kids or keeping them out of trouble. Boarding school can be a great place for kids to learn responsibility and discipline.
Attending a boarding school produces mixed reactions among children and teens. Many enjoy the opportunity to live with their friends and to enjoy the freedoms of not being with their parents all the time. For students who began attending boarding school at a young age, many enjoy their lives because they do not know any different. Of course there are always students who get homesick or who would prefer to live with their parents and attend a regular school.
Regardless of the pros or cons of attending a boarding school, boarding school really is a world of its own.