Junior Boarding Schools

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In Great Britain, many children go to boarding schools when they are as young as three years old. While there are a few boarding schools in the United States that accept preschoolers, most American "Junior Boarding Schools" are for ages eight to thirteen.

PROS
A good junior boarding school can be an excellent placement for an orphaned child, because everyone is treated equally and fairly. Many parents with non-traditional careers or those undergoing difficult transitions like divorce find boarding schools excellent alternatives. Those who live in areas where public schools are not up to par and where no private alternatives exist often turn to junior boarding schools to provide superior academics.

Some junior boarding schools advertise themselves as a means to email data entrance to prestigious boarding schools for high school. They help students with applications, entrance examinations, and so forth.

Children with learning disabilities or neurocognitive disorders often benefit from early intervention. Many social problems begin around age 12 when a child's social milieu becomes more complex. Children with disorders such as Attention Deficit, Asperger Syndrome, and so forth benefit from intense social skills training available at therapeutic junior boarding schools. These schools often have specialized equipment and shorter class times that help children learn to organize their work. Many children with Attention Deficit Disorder do not have the higher-level executive functions needed to negotiate a regular junior high school where there are a variety of teachers and classrooms. Even a year at a therapeutic boarding school where behavioral training is intensive and round-the-clock can really benefit a child with such disorders.

The junior high years are an ideal time to intervene with children who are acting out in self-destructive ways, such as abusing drugs, alcohol and other substances. A therapeutic environment provides structure, superior academics, and counselors who can help turn the child around before he or she gets completely lost in a high school environment.

CONS
Many child psychologists, including the late Erving Goffman, are against long-term separation of children from their parents until they are young adults. The argument is that such separations cause an "encapsulation of the self", because young children in boarding schools learn to suppress their emotions and their needs for affection and love. When a child grows up in boarding schools, he or she often develops problems in intimate relationships as an adult.

Strict rules and demanding academic schedules can stress out young children.