You may be worried about your child heading off to boarding school, but you’re not the only one. every year parents have the let their child fly the roost and move out of their protective comfort. Its only natural to be a little worried, after all they may never have been away from home for more than a couple of nights before. It is worth bearing in mind however that your child is probable worried just the same as you are. New faces and new surroundings will be everywhere and they wont have the protection of their mum and dad either. Here are a few tips to help during the transition period.
Maintain contact. Knowing that they can contact you whenever the need is very reassuring to a child when they are in a new place. Set a time that you can both talk on the phone every day and even if they say they don’t want to talk, ring them anyway. Children often don’t ask you to ring them and it’s much better for them to get fed up of you than long to hear your voice. Framlingham College set an hour every evening for such phone calls
Send food and gifts. Every now and again, send your son or daughter a nice goody pack. This could be anything from money to snacks. It doesn’t really matter what it is but it will show them that you are thinking about them and gives you another excuse to get in contact. It will additionally help with their socialisation as your child would have the oppertunity to give out some of the stuff to friends. Always ask the school first however as some schools such as Eastbourne College do not allow gift parcels
Visit when invited. If there is a school play on or a sports event then make sure you make it along every time, no matter what. Notre Dame School run events that take place on the same day of every month and anyone that wants to come can. Your child won’t feel like they are the odd one out if you go and you can often spend some high quality time with them
Tags: boarding school, college, first time, independence, leaving, parenting, private school