Would you send your 8-year-old to boarding school?

[Anonymous]

I have 8 and 10 yr old girls. I can't even imagine not being there for them in these critical upcoming years. These are the years when they truly need you from an emotional perspective. Imagine not being there for them when they go through puberty and get their periods for the first time, etc. No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aw, hell no.

+1

[Anonymous]

I couldn't imagine doing this at all. Even if by some miracle that I changed my mind, 8 is too young. How do you get to know your kids if they aren't there? How do kids get to know their parents as they grow into young adults? I have a co-worker that plans on sending his sons to boarding school when they get old enough. Its the same school that he and his brothers attended. The school is about 8 hours away. You can't even stop by on the weekend and have dinner together. My boys drive me nuts most of the time, but I can't imagine not having them around. Now, if they ask to do it in high school, I would consider it.

[Anonymous]

I think your DH should have stayed in the UK if that's how he wanted to raise his kids.

[Anonymous]

I assume your kids are American OP?

In America, you only send your kids away if you don't want them.

Your 8 year olds and everyone that knows them are going to think you and your husband hate having them.

I think most Americans would have a difficult time accepting as friends a couple that sent their elementary kids away to boarding school an ocean away.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend from a wealthy Indian family. He went to “boarding school” at 3 years old. His family bought an apartment nearby and his mother lived there with him. I don’t recall at what age he started actually boarding at the school, but it was young.

I would not send my 8 year old to boarding school for multiple reasons, but if I did it would be with the above setup- I live in apartment nearby and my child has all the support she needs/wants from me until she is ready to transition to full boarding, if that day ever comes.

[Anonymous]

There are a series of British documentaries on You Tube about kids this young being sent to boarding school. They are way too young for that. I wanted to go to boarding school for high school because my step siblings had moved into our house and I just a bit like an extra kid. I was pretty quiet, well behaved and didn't attract much attention so I figured nobody would miss me too much. I was very independent too but I stayed at home. My son is 13 and has said he doesn't want to go to a boarding school and while I think it could be a great opportunity, I won't pursue it. He knows himself.

[Anonymous]

Not for a million bucks. I have an 8 year old and I’m not sure I’ll be ready to send him for a week of sleep away camp at 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not for a million bucks. I have an 8 year old and I’m not sure I’ll be ready to send him for a week of sleep away camp at 9.

Yea, we applied for a sleepaway camp for our ds, who will be 9 next summer. He's waitlisted for the 2 week camp, but they said that they have a spot in the 4 week version if we want it. I was reluctant enough about two weeks, I am not up for 4 weeks and neither is he. I could never imagine sending him away to boarding school, especially in a different country!

[Anonymous]

I think it’s rather young, but I used to beg, BEG my parents to send me to boarding school starting in middle school. They never did :/

[Anonymous]

I would consider it based on the child's desire starting in the teen years - though secretly it would break my heart if they made that choice!

My 6 year old still comes into our room during the night occasionally. We don't coddle him, still I can't imagine him being ready to go away to school in two years.

[Anonymous]

My oldest really wanted to do for HS-not only couldn’t we afford-I couldn’t imagine not having her. She ended up going to one of the ivies and a good number has done boarding at Exeter, Philips, St Andrews. She said majority were pretty miserable people and were almost an intact tribe (as apparently these boarders knew each other as many were from same towns even if their schools were far apart. Of course many came from very high levels of wealth as boarding school culture in US is more from high wealth families, very often coupled with divorced parents. While my DD still imagined that her dream of a ‘Swiss Finishing School’ would have been a totally amazing experience she was glad not to have gone domestically. She now has a 1yo and we actually just talked about this and she knows she wouldn’t do with her own!!

[Anonymous]

OP I thought the entry year for Roedean for example is 11 years old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s rather young, but I used to beg, BEG my parents to send me to boarding school starting in middle school. They never did :/

Me too but that’s because I figured I’d get more love at a boarding school. And I read all the boarding-school tween novels.

[Anonymous]

Are you crazy? Totally not appropriate. I don't care that your husband's family are snobby boarding school types. sheesh.