Alternative boarding school offering troubled teens programs and boot camps providing teenage help and parenting advice and tips.

What are boot camps?
Boot camps can be either privately owned or government-run facilities that take the format and structure of military recruitment camps to achieve behavior modification.

Is it suitable for kids?
If you're thinking of sending your child to boot camp for kids, it may be best to do a little research first about the boot camp. Is it a real boot camp or just a camp with a military theme? Boot camps are traditionally designed to serve as an alternative to other correctional facilities for juvenile offenders. It seems hardly fit for teens or kids that were not prosecuted for an offense.

What goes on in boot camps?
Traditional boot camps have staff that use military titles and uniforms, the daily routine in these camps is pattered after military camps. Days can start really early and the activities during the day can be physically punishing. Rules are enforced strictly and any infraction is dealt with severely. Most rules are enforced for the sole purpose of teaching teens to learn how to obey them and to understand the concept of being punished for disobedience.

If your child is challenged in some way or is troubled and showing signs of rebelliousness, sending them to boot camp for kids may not be the answer you are looking for.

Controversies
Many mental health experts agree that boot camp doesn't really do much when it comes to addressing the reasons why children are challenged or troubled. It may be something akin to institutionalized bullying, and there have been many instances where boot camps faced many complaints of subjecting campers to physical and verbal abuse. There have even been cases of accidental deaths because the kind of physical punishment inflicted on offenders are too much to bear.

Instead of teaching children to respect authority figures, it breeds an unhealthy fear of them. While they may become more adept at hiding their misbehavior, they also realize pretty quickly that when they reach a certain age, their parents cannot send them to boot camp against their will anymore. Without really attacking the heart of the problem, children are left without proper defenses and no guidance on how to make better decisions.

Boot camps also have no therapy or counseling and no aftercare programs to help teens adjust back to their home and school environment and keep their good behavior up. Most therapists will maintain that the changes that boot camps inspire in children are, more often than not, just superficial in nature rather than life-changing.

There are several other viable options to pick from when considering what could be best for your child. However, asking for a therapist's opinion prior to making a decision would also be helpful. Your therapist can give you a better insight on how you can help your child and whether it would be helpful to send your child to a therapeutic boarding school or a wilderness camp or anything similar. What's important is not to just focus on the symptoms but also the underlying issues that cause your child to be challenged or troubled.