I try my best to support my daughter in all her endeavors. When she was in 6th grade and starting showing me different all-girls boarding schools (and they had to have an equestrian program because she likes to ride) I was very impressed and listened to what she had to say about how she evaluated the schools. It just did not register to me at the time that she would be “leaving” home at 14. She didn’t get a full scholarship (we still have to pay $20K+/yr) but it was similar to the amount of tuition to attend the one day school that she applied to. I love watching my daughter grow-up and at 14, she is still a child. My husband and I have given her everything she has wanted because she is such a good girl (not a spoiled brat in anyway). If she goes to boarding school, I will not be able to watch her grow throughout her high school years. I want to be at every event she is involved with to support her but that will not be possible if she is at boarding school. I also love the fact that she is under my roof at night and safe - gives me great peace of mind. Is it wrong to want to experience your child grow from age 14-18 before seeing them off to college? My daughter just graduated valedictorian of her 8th grade class yesterday from her private day school; however, she is a perfectionist and focused all her energy on her grades at school. Although she got a great education at her private day school (K-8), she missed out on being involved in activities outside of school during the week and most weekends because of the demands of school. The day school she attended ALWAYS assigned homework on weekends and usually research papers/projects during every holiday break. I feel to some extend she was not allowed to be a child. Now I’m afraid if she goes to a private all-girls boarding school (or even any private day school), the workload will be equivalent or more and she will not make the time to experience all of the opportunities to “enjoy” her high school years. Grades aren’t everything. High School is your last 4 years to try lots of different activities but if the pressure of homework is too great, my daughter will choose to focus only on her studies. I wanted to make sure my daughter had a strong educational foundation in her early years but now I’m a little sad that she did not have the time to be a child. Children grow up way too fast. I am very blessed to have such an intelligent and mature young daughter but I don’t her whole life to be centered around grades. I love my daughter very much and I chose to be a mother so I could raise my child. Allowing her to move away from home at 14 is 4 years too soon for me. I am sorry that I got caught-up in my daughter’s excitement and interest in boarding school. But when reality step-in and I realized she would be leaving home, I just could not deal with not being able to see her on a daily basis. We all make mistakes and I admit I made a mistake by not telling her “no” early on but that is because I didn’t realize how I would feel once it was final. We are now trying to work things out with the help of a counselor to compromise on a day school. I am still struggling - I want my daughter to be happy but I have to be a parent first.