For many boarders, returning to school after the Easter break will be tough. It’s common for homesickness to come and go for the first couple of terms when children are tired and on their own or when they’ve just spoken to their parents on the phone. Sometimes they are having a great time, making new friends and enjoying the new routine. But when things quieten down, they sometimes start to think about what they’re missing out on at home.
California’s Institute for Gifted Advancement has a useful list of tips to help your boarding student cope – without being a helicopter parent and without making them homesick by asking if they feel homesick.
So after you’ve set the ground rules about emails and late-night phone calls to home and packed your child up with a great batch of their favourite home-baked cookies for their return to school for Term 2, skip to the bottom of the list for what might be its most critical tip: “Don’t be hurt when your son or daughter begins to refer to school as “home.” It’s a good sign. Really.”
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