Saving Your Troubled Pre-Teen Daughter: How Private Boarding Schools Can Help

If you're like most parents, you want your daughter's middle school experience to be a positive one. Not only does it mark her journey from pre-teen to adolescence, middle school is also a critical transformative social and emotional experience: girls begin to develop stronger friendships, personality traits and individual preferences.

But a significant amount of emotional stress accompanies the pre-teen to teen transition. And for middle school girls, the combination of increased self-awareness and growing social pressure can give rise to a variety of emotional and behavioral concerns - concerns that, without proper guidance and support, can put girls at risk.

What If Your Daughter is Struggling?
It's normal for pre-teen or "tween" girls to experience some degree of social and academic anxiety. But if you notice significant changes in your daughter's behavior, including anger outbursts, social withdrawal or isolation, loss of interest in activities she usually enjoys, or falling grades or academic problems that appear "out of character," it's time to consider professional support.

All girls' boarding schools or "junior boarding schools" are an excellent alternative for struggling pre-teen girls. While it may sound like a "drastic" solution, private all-girls boarding schools with a middle school curriculum often offer an effective combination of academic and emotional support.

All-Girls Boarding Schools Can Help
Unlike day schools, boarding schools for struggling girls provide the consistency and security of an around-the-clock structure. They also combine therapeutic emotional support with academic help tailored to your daughter's individual needs.

Private boarding schools also remove many of the negative social pressures and distractions that can influence your daughter's self-esteem and social confidence. And for pre-teen girls struggling with a parent's divorce - or to adjust to a new step-parent - a private boarding school can provide the counseling, support and guidance she (and your family) needs to address and move beyond her concerns.

Finding the Right Boarding School for Your Daughter
If you think boarding school will help your troubled pre-teen, it's important to take the time to find the right program. Look for therapeutic boarding schools or junior boarding schools with fully trained, licensed counselors and therapists on staff, and consider programs that emphasize parent and family involvement as part of a student's treatment.

If your daughter has also been struggling with school work or grades, you'll also want to make sure the boarding school you select also has the faculty and resources to help your daughter get - and stay - on track academically.

Finally, remember to check the licensing, credentials and state certifications of the boarding schools you're considering. And once you find the right program, rest assured your daughter is now on the road to a healthy adolescence.