Or maybe they made that up and it’s something completely unrelated that they’re not telling you because it’s just not your business.
I agree with someone up thread. They likely know you’re nosey and are being vague on purpose.
Your neighbor told you why their kid is home. You obviously are not satisfied and decide to post this on a forum with strangers to speculate.
IMHO, this is very sad.
Our local orthodontist offices go on limited services schedule in the summer - because the majority of their patients is on a break, too. That’s why they do not do any serious work in the summer.
Shame on posters who slammed OP for posting a question. Nosy, speculator, etc. Can you guys take what’s offered at face value and believe the OP that she was simply curious as to why ortho work can take so much time?
It may not bother you but it bothers me if a kid drops out of college or isn’t doing well there as I fear if something like that happens to my child, I should have more info to solve the problem. Every year a good percentage of kids drop out and many times, it’s preventable if parents know the reasons. In my state school, if you don’t maintain minimum GPA, attendance or follow conduct guidelines, they suspend kids for a semester or year or do even expel some.
One thing is confusing that others can judge and scold OP all they want but it’s an atrocity if OP calls someone holier than thou. No one is being forced to reply and judge OP.
I worked with orthodontist offices on a project recently, and they are crazy busy in the summer. Tons of parents want their kids to be seen while school is out. We had to hold off on system upgrades all summer until Septembet because they have so many patients in the summer that they couldn’t take any down time for the upgrade.
OP, I think you are exaggerating. I also think you are pulling at threads – yes, students take semesters off for health problems. And sometimes they don’t tell everyone what is going on – maybe this kid is having mental health issues or is on academic probation, and the parents decided that a semester off is in order. Maybe the dental story is a smokescreen. But it is hard to understand why you need to (sorry, but this is how it sounds) gossip about it when neither you nor anyone online has the real story.
To find out the usual reasons for kids dropping a semester and what parents can do to make things workable.
The reasons kids drop out are as varied as the kids and families–finances, personal issues, health, it could be all or none of those things. It can also be health of another family member and the kid wants to be around to support the family. If the family doesn’t want to share more, I’d respect their privacy. If they WANT your help, you can offer to be a sounding board and then let them ask IF they choose to.
It’s not yours to “make workable.” And the sort of feedback you’re getting (which I’d call forthright,) is just what happens on an anon forum. I can’t figure why this so intrigues you. If you’e worried about the kid, be nice to him. If your kids need ortho work, post it and you’ll get shared experiences and thoughtful advice.
OP, you seem to know this family well, so ask. Maybe the answer is that he needed a break but to keep his scholarship there needs to be a reason, and this ortho work provides that reason. My daughter’s merit award is for ‘8 consecutive semesters.’ She wanted to do a disney internship this semester, and they gave her permission to do that and keep the scholarship. The scholarship is not on her portal for next year, so I think she’ll need to go in and ‘remind’ them that they said it was okay to take the semester off. They told her they do not give permission to just take a semester off to rest or travel. A medical reason may be acceptable.
But just ask.
To be fair, OP, you started the thread with “I know I should mind my own business but…” so don’t be surprised when people agree that yes, you should.
It’s one thing to ask “Why would someone who needs orthodontic treatment need to take a whole semester off?” It’s another to give details about your neighbor and question their story- which is what you sound like you’re doing whether you mean to or not.
I agree with LF. You can ask about typical reasons but this really isn’t a typical reason and it’s not your situation. Do your kids need or will they need orthodontic work? If so, post about YOUR situation and you will get advice. But you’re simply not going to get good advice about a situation that we know about third hand and that probably lacks many crucial details.
For some insurance plans, as in tie in with an HMO, there are geographic limitations to the orthodontic practice. I found orthodontic work for my 3 to be so time intensive that it felt like a part time job some years. Pick up from school for weekly adjustments, schlep, wait, schlep, wait. Their treatment was minor compared to some! Putting this in a busy college semester in an unfamiliar city or rural area with no local orthodontics, with no private transportation could make it impossible.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar…
Frankly I find all the judgmental comments on this thread to be much more insufferable than anything about the OP’s curiousity! She already acknowledged in the first message that it wasn’t her place to judge their decision, but that she just wanted to understand what the rationale might be for such a scenario. Why does almost every person feel the need to mention the snarky “yeah it’s not your business” over and over again? Talk about beating a dead horse. Almost every post on CC could be classified as talking about other people’s business.
Geez…she’s just CURIOUS!!! No one says she wants to do anything w the info. She just can’t imagine the answer and wonders if anyone might have heard about something like this before.
(On that topic…why does my neighbor insist on lemon meringue pie yellow as a house color? With blue gray shutters? Ugh! Cured me of my love of yellow houses. One bad paint choice lasts 20 years!!!)
One thing our insurance policy has for orthodontics is an age limit. They really don’t want to cover adults so the limit is age 19 or 20. I also know a young person who had problems crop up with her jaw alignment later than usual. The recommendation for her is 18 months with braces and then jaw surgery. How to do that while you’re at school? Something like that could be the issue with the OP’s friend.
@HRSMom I’d agree with you but for the way she phrased some of her posts. It seems she doesn’t believe the excuse and then later mentioned how to prevent kids from dropping out. That’s quite a leap from needing dental work to dropping out. It just seems snarky and unnecessary.
Agree with @sseamom. Natural curiosity is one thing, but to clearly doubt a reason that someone has given you for this and then to post about it online is unnecessary. She better hope that her neighbor isn’t a CC member because the info she’s given is pretty identifiable!
Or ANYONE who knows her neighbor and has been given the same reason. That exponentially raises the possibility of neighbor finding out.
I would be beyond “insert any nasty word that is disallowed on CC” if I found out someone I know started a whole thread about me and my kid.
^ LOL! I always assume there is someone on this board that knows me and could easily recognize me by something I post. Assuming that makes me double think what I’m posting.
Nothing wrong with wanting to know this information…but putting it in the house of curiousity about your own acquaintance is what is strange.
There are TONS of reasons why kids take time off from college…TONS. And not all of them are doom and gloom.
- Kid is offered a job that relates to major interest and decides to do that for a semester...or two.
- Kid is given an opportunity to do something...travel, do a creative endeavor, etc...and decides to take time off to do so.
- Student decides current major and schools are not their cup of tea...and don't want to rush into another decision.
- Family moves away, and student wants to go. Might need to wait a year to establish instate residency in new place.
- Student decides they want to work to contribute to college costs...and takes time off to do so.
- Student gets married, or has a baby, and takes time off.