Do you constantly argue with your teenager? Is he or she defiant or rebellious? One of the mums on our team has a 14-year-old boy who is driving her crazy at the moment. A healthy, intelligent and athletic boy, he stopped doing his homework and refused to help at home. So of course she threatened to take away privileges, which he said didn’t matter. All he really wanted was Wi-Fi access and when that was denied he simply refused to cooperate altogether.
Clashes like these are very common between teens and parents — teens get angry because they feel parents don’t respect them and aren’t giving them space to do what they like, and parents get angry because they aren’t used to not being in control or they disagree with the teens’ decisions.
Teenagers also fail to believe that we were teens once too and actually understand some of what they are going through.
These are the types of family environments that often lead to a decision to send a child to boarding school. But don’t use it as a threat – boarding school should be seen as an opportunity, not as a punishment.
With structure and discipline, 24/7 care, first-class facilities and children their own age around, boarding school can be the chance for what parents describe as “difficult” teens to show a change in heart and behaviour. A quality school can offer students the opportunity to learn the value of mature decision making, responsibility, accountability, and ownership.
But boarding school doesn’t only provide an opportunity for a quality education and structure – it’s also a chance to build positive social and life skills, which could be the cause of some of the tensions in your household. As students live in shared accommodation, often in a dorm-like setting, they live socially every day, in an environment where they can learn social skills such as teamwork, communication, camaraderie, and friendship.
If these are some of the reasons you are considering boarding school, take a look at the extensive range of quality schools on our website. We recommend you make a list of what your family values from an educational and social environment and you’ll pretty quickly narrow down your list.
Then check out the dates of our 2016 Expo events to find out when we will visit a centre close to you. If you can’t wait a few months, start contacting schools now – the registrars we work with have proven to be some of the most caring, cooperative people we know and your call won’t be the first they have taken when a parent is looking for a lifeline.