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Thanks for asking!Well i think my son is too young for the experience and still has the fact that i have to deal with family pressure.It's not easy
Who wants to stop parenting after 7 years? Wouldn't you miss him terribly? Won't he desperately having parents he can see every day? Children need parents more than a fancy boarding school. It's hard not to feel sorry for little kids so far away from home. In your heart you know that your son needs you. Tell your family it's your son and you will decide what is best for him. End of conversation.
I agree with you but my family is very conservative and likes to keep the traditions.It is not that simple. Thanks for answering,It helps a lot.I need to have a serious talk about that with my family.
Can you have a 'serious talk' with your son? I guarantee he won't want to be sent away. He will convince himself that he has done something terribly wrong for you to want to send him away.
Years ago I knew a young boy in the US who was sent to an English boarding school. It was his father's school and a family tradition. It was a disaster. He was so lonely, his whole childhood, and his father refused to let him come home and go to a local, excellent, private school. The boy's childhood was horrible. Whenever he came home for breaks he begged to be able to stay home. It was heartbreaking. By the end of high school, the boy hated his parents, knew nothing of American culture, had no good relationships, and didn't even have a driver's license. This brilliant boy, with a great sense of humor and real caring for others, was a mess because of his parent's choices. He tried college but never finished. In his mid-30's he's still something of a mess with no real career or family. Very sad. Please don't subject your son to that kind of lonely childhood and beyond.
He is 7 years old. My brother, who has a son who is studying at one of the best boarding schools in Switzerland, has sent me some recommendations. I think he's still very young,but I want to send him to the beginning of the school year. what do you think about that ?
So many people will be so judgemental but boarding school is an amazing opportunity that usually only the wealthiest can afford. Not only is the education to be desired but the networking opportunities.
So many people will be so judgemental but boarding school is an amazing opportunity that usually only the wealthiest can afford. Not only is the education to be desired but the networking opportunities.
Seven is very young. However, most people who send their children to board send them at an older age.
I think in general an exclusive boarding school is a great idea. I know families who practice this broadly - wealthy educated families. I know many in America don't share this view.
My husband went at 11 and his peers from then are all materially successful and a high proportion in positions of power . I sometimes feel sad we couldn't send our own children - but we had more than we could afford to send and I'd be far too selfish to send them away anyway.
All the kids I know that went to boarding school became very successful adults.
Just my experience.
If you don't want to send your son away, don't.
Did they go at 7?
I went to prep school, but didn't board. It was great. However, it was nice to be a normal kid with parents, friends in the neighborhood, etc. Boarding school, if used at all, should be an option for older teenagers.
A lot of people have stark opinions on boarding school, but depending on the circumstances, it can be a much better environment for a child than at home. For example, if the mom and dad both work long hours, the kids are effectively already getting the boarding school experience. Or if the parents' work requires frequent relocation which could be really hard on a kid. Or if the parents don't really get along well with each other.
Or if the parents abuse the children. I felt my Mom sent me away at an early age 'to save my life.' This is my positive spin on it. She may have sent me away due to fear of child protective services that were called and she possessed such a Diva persona (think 'Mommy Dearest' film. For years I said she sent me away never to be seen again due to her concern about potential charges (justified) but later I changed it in my mind that maybe she was saving me.
So many people will be so judgemental but boarding school is an amazing opportunity that usually only the wealthiest can afford. Not only is the education to be desired but the networking opportunities.
Networking at age 7?
My cousin went to a boarding school when her parents were going through a nasty divorce. The school was a better option than being at her home but I would say the education and "Networking" opportunities were less than optimal.
I've read through this whole thread. I'm still waiting for stories about those who went to boarding school at the age of seven and are now happy and emotionally well-adjusted adults.
So many people will be so judgemental but boarding school is an amazing opportunity that usually only the wealthiest can afford. Not only is the education to be desired but the networking opportunities.
I think you have a skewed perception. Maybe it works like that for your husband. Like I said before - I went to one of the best private schools on the east coast (and was accepted into one that was literally top-tier). Networking really isn't a thing until you get to college. We see each other at reunions and maintain ties with our closest friends, but it's not like some secret club. Even my friends who attended that top-tier school I didn't opt to go to don't really have much to do with their former classmates. Yes, I'm friends with a lot of these people just like my cousins who went to public school are friends with their former classmates, but we don't really network with each other, nor do our friends who boarded.
Actually, school networking seems to be more relevant for working class people who remain in their hometown in my experience. My cousins are constantly swapping job tips with friends or hiring people they grew up with to work with them on jobs and stuff like that.
My Ivy League college is an entirely different story also - that's opened doors and started conversations for me that otherwise might not have happened. I don't regret the debt I took on to go there for one second.
Yeah, there are some advantages to boarding school, but they don't beat a solid education and supportive home. I had the solid education, but the home support came mainly from extended family, which was another reason why I rejected the idea of boarding school entirely. My parents would have monopolized my home visits and marginalized my loving and super-supportive extended family who are key parts of my support system to this day.
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