Wednesday night, sending your child, aged 8 to boarding school, do tell me about it as i won't be able to watch!!!

[piratecat]

I couldn't even watch the trailer for it without wanting to weep!

With you there...although I will watch it and report back with everyone else!

As my husband so delicately put it...

"well don't send them to fucking boarding school then!!!

Signing up, can't wait for this, although can't imagine it will be comfortable viewing,

but its Thursday night isn't it?

oops sorry , too upset to think here!!!

poorbuthappy, your dh summed it up.

The trailer made me upset too. I don't know if I can watch it.

I know trailer was distressing, i just couldnt do it.
And will prob end up feeling cross at the parents that do in this prog

DH went to boarding school at 7 and absolutely loved it. His parents were stationed overseas at the time.

As a nanny I have looked after children who went off to boarding school and were absolutely fine. I think I cried more! In some families it is just an accepted part of life.

However seeing that trailer made me think that if your child is that upset you should not send them. I know now that I have a ds I couldn't do it.

Some of my friends did this at 7, boys and girls, so I shall watch with interest, but my children were babies at 7 and their place was and still is at home. I can imagine DD going, she would love to, but no way, she is tucked up at a London Day school!

Different families do things differently

The families on the show are all military I think .

Trailer was upsetting, thanks for reminder, am intending to watch as we were considering sending ds on a weekly basis.

I don't think we are any more. Anyone know what time it's on please?

what channel and what time?

Tomorrow night, Thursday C4 at 9pm, cutting edge

Thankyou...is it not tonight then as per title?

No tomorrow night poor piratecat was still traumatised from the birth programme last night when she started the thread

If you asked me at 8 yrs old if I want to go to boarding school I would jump at the chance. My parent loved me but were total pain in the necks! I jumped at the chance to go to boarding school in a foreign country at 11. It didn't work out as Mum couldn't bare to leave me. BUT oh! I wish she did.
In real life I think I would have missed her terribly and turned out a real bitch

I wanted to watch this but after seeing the trailer I'm not going to.

The thought of sending one's child away at 8 years old is just unbearable for me, and I don't even have any children yet.

I'm not a fan of boarding schools and while I could perhaps see an older teen enjoying their time there,I cannot imagine sending such a young child there. I think it's wrong when there are other alternatives.

DP was sent away to boarding school when he was very young and I can see the affect it's had on him.

The programme will make me too angry so I'll avoid it though I may check this thread later to see the discussion on it.

If you are in the Forces though, isn't this often the best alternative? Can't imagine doing it just for the status or whatever, but if it was the only way of assuring some stability (as it often will be for Forces families), then I probably would.

I haven't been in the forces or been married to anyone who has, but if possible I'd rather be with my children than with my partner on base if being with my partner meant I had to send the children to boarding school.

My parents were in the forces and I was sent away to school - I had a ball! My brother was sent as a day boy to his prep school but begged to board after a term because he said he was "missing out on everything". It was always what was going to happen - we were told very early on that we would be going to boarding school - all of my friends boarded and it was just what one did.

It was far less disruptive having a stable school life than having to move around every two years....it's obviously not right for every child, but I 'm interested to watch the programme because I think that nowadays boarding schools are much less 'harsh' than they used to be in terms of home comforts and the pastoral care.

Ready for this tonight, I can't imagine sending my dcs away but then I work from home and my dcs are homebirds

As you say panicmode everyones situation is different

I guess it's what you're used to as well - as zapostrophe said, generations on both sides of my family have been to boarding school, all of my cousins went, DH and his parents went etc. In fact we're the first generation to be going state (shock horror from some quarters) but we just don't have the cash to put four through the system.....

Generations of my family went at 7 or 8 and so did I. I hated it and can still remember lying at night listening to other people crying themselves to sleep.

Glad to hear some people thought it was ok but it was not for me or mine.

I'll be tuning in to see the programme this evening. I'm looking forward to getting more of an insight into boarding school life and the reasons why parents send their children to them.

Will watch this with interest.

Both my older brothers were sent away to school at 7 ? although they are both professionally successful and nice men they are incredibly emotionally distant and I think damaged from the experience.

At the time it was the norm in my parent?s circle of friends to send kids away & everyone thought it was for the best.

I know people went as weekly boarders as teenagers and loved it but young children, away for weeks at a time doesn't feel right to me.