Which Teen Boarding School Should You Choose?
Having made the decision that your troubled teen needs at least some time away from home, next comes the decision as to where to send them? Apart from the choices of types of boarding schools, whether therapy, boot camp or military school style, the first choice is one of gender. Before you send your son to teen boarding school, decide, will they benefit from single sex education or would they do better in a mixed gender environment. To help you make this, the first of many decisions, there are a few issues you need to consider, outlined below.
Troubled teen boys, single sex or mixed gender boarding school?
- Research shows that boys respond better to an all male environment when accepting authority
- Boys teen therapy in a single sex environment can target boys competitive nature
- A focus on boy friendly sports is possible in single sex boarding schools
- Boys are motivated by kinesthetic activity and physical challenge
- Girls, flirtation and romance are a distraction, without them, boys achieve better academically
- Troubled teen boys are often missing a male role model, and need that desperately in order to overcome their issues
- Fragile boys may suffer in a single sex environment, especially if struggling with their sexuality
- Less sporty boys may find the atmosphere of competition intimidating and prefer a mixed environment
- Boys lacking social skills may benefit from female input to help build confidence in this area
- Not all boys enjoy physical activity, some positively hate it!
- Not all boys learn kinesthetically, some are bookish, and need less active methods to develop
Involve your child in the decision
Ultimately, whether you choose a single sex, or mixed gender boarding school for your troubled teen will depend on their personality, and the issues they are facing. It may be far more important to send your son to a specialist teen camp for their personality disorder, and gender may be irrelevant. If your son has been missing a male role model in his life, and is particularly difficult with you, his mother, then a single sex school may help him to learn how to behave as a man, rather than an angry child.
On the other hand, if your son feels safest with women, has more female friends than male, a boy only camp may terrify him! You owe it to your teenager to discuss this aspect of the boarding school, and if possible, to give him some choice. The stress of "sending your child away" is sufficient, without additional concerns that he may run away from the school or camp you send him to! Allowing him some choice may make the whole process a little less traumatic.