Here’s something that I hadn’t thought about. And I am not very advanced in my thinking on this, more like curious.

Heard from a friend today. Haven’t been in touch for a while and she mentions that her kids (a senior and a freshman) are both away at boarding school.

Hmmmm. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Military school for an out-of-control teen? Nope, these very nice kids are at some bucolic schools in the East.

Here’s my thing–and I will be investigating–how do people who didn’t go to boarding schools themselves end up sending their kids to boarding school? I have known people who went to high school at Eton or at Exeter. In these cases there was a family member (like father, grandfather and great-grandfather, for example) who had gone and there were some geographic challenges. One friend hated it. Another friend absolutely LOVED it. But that didn’t put the boarding option in my head. Actually, it would never have been on my list.

Not that I think that it is a bad idea. (Other than the fact that I would desperately miss the kids.) And, I can see why some kids would just love it. I just would never have considered it. And now, I am wondering what gets people to consider it. How do things get on parents’ lists? Like why do we decide on piano lessons, or art tutors, or sleep away camp, or private versus public school? Or if the kids can play M-rated games, or not? If it’s okay for the girlfriend to spend the night with the teenage son? Or if you serve drinks to under-agers at your house rather than have them go out? But now I am getting negative, and there isn’t anything negative about boarding school. Or am I thinking that?