Do I Send My Depressed Child to Boarding School?

brock24
Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:05:40 +0000

So my daughter has been having a lot of trouble the past year. She just finished her sophomore year of high school. She was fine for the first half of freshman year until she started dating a boy that my wife and I did not approve of. He was a distraction that was taking focus off of her academics, tennis, and friends. He was also a very bad influence because he would often yell at her, treated her poorly, would flirt with her friends, etc. My wife and I forbade her from seeing or talking to him and blocked him on her phone but she still found a way to meet up with him and their break up was very messy. The break-up occurred at the beginning of this past sophomore year. Since then, her grades have slipped, her tennis performance has decreased, she has extreme anxiety about school, social life, etc. and often says she does not want to live anymore and hates life. She even began cutting but we put a stop to it very quickly. We have sent her to a psychologist, talked to multiple doctors, have her on anxiety medication, but nothing is working. She hates leaving her room, barely sleeps, and yells not only at us but her brothers. We are at a complete loss at this point. We have tried everything but nothing is working.

At this point, I feel that the best thing for her is to send her to boarding school. I feel as if being at home surrounded by all these negative influences is not helping her get better and back on track. She attends an elite private school on the Main Line (Philly metro) and we feel that being surrounded by her friends and all the negative memories is taking away from her focuses on academics and what is truly important in life. I feel that sending her to a boarding school would help. But I am also afraid that if we send her away, she will find it difficult to make friends, readjust to her new environment, and possibly go to the lengths such as harming herself. We also will not be able to have full supervision on her and we do not want a repeat of what happened with that boy. I was possibly thinking Lawrenceville because it is only an hour from our house.

I am also afraid to tell my wife this suggestion because I feel as if she will think I don’t love my child, I’m giving up on her by sending her away, etc. My wife is very protective over our daughter. I just don’t see any other viable option and we are NOT sending her to a “nut” house. Her situation has relation put a strain not only on my wife and I’s relationship but has also affected her brothers who are in middle school and we do not want her influencing them.

Sorry for bringing such a negative topic to a positive thread. I just have nowhere else to turn and I am hoping your advice will help with the decision.

Thanks!