What is the difference between boot camp and military school?
Parents with angry, defiant, aggressive teenagers that are destroying the family unit, sometimes feel the only solution is to send the teenager away from home. Dad may be convinced that all the teenager needs is some discipline, and may suggest a military school as being the solution. There are a number of military schools to choose from and parents researching this option will also come across the term military boot camp or just boot camp. It is important to understand the differences in these types of treatment options, as one may be more suitable for the teenager than another. Juvenile boot camps were originally started as state correctional facilities, in place of detention and incarceration.
Most are private now with a majority of teens being placed by families-not by courts. There are almost no state-run juvenile boot camps left. The numbers of boot camps have now grown as more private companies have set up boot camps to deal with troubled and defiant teenagers. They offer a range of therapies and behavior modification programs aimed at putting the teenager back on the right track. Within the boot camps classification is where you will find the greatest range of options; there are single sex boot camps; special needs boot camps and specific age related camps.
A military school was originally for students who wanted to join the armed forces as a career choice at the end of high school. This focuses as much on the teenagers' education and academic progress as it does on their self discipline. Many parents send their teenagers to military school as a way of modifying their behavior and improving their academic scores in a highly disciplined environment; they are effectively private schools. Most of the students at military school will end up choosing to go into the military life.
If the teenager has significant emotional problems including depression, a military school or military boot camp may not be the best choice. The focus for this teenager needs to be more on therapy than strict discipline and the parents may need a different sort of boot camp or treatment center for their troubled teenager. Deep seated psychological problems in the teenager need to be assessd and properly diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist, before the parent send the teenager away on a residential program most therapists and many schools, are now aware of the various programs available and can help the parents with their decision.