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How to Choose Boot Camps for Kids

Naomi Sarah
Here's helping you decide on the best boot camps for kids, that will help him/her grow into a responsible and self achieving adult. Find out what will work for your child, and how to go about it...
A boot camp is synonymous with military school, since both have military based settings, with the same goal in mind. Kids are usually sent off to boot camp to be subjected to a more disciplined setting, of getting things straight in their lives, especially when they're in their teens.
Parents send their kids to these camps in the hope of changing them as individuals, especially when they've been behaving in a manner that disturbs them.
There are many controversies that revolve around boot camps for teenagers, and the way their correctional methods are enforced upon kids. Only a few places don't entail such a strict and vigorous way of doing things.
The importance of sending off a kid to boot camp is to know that he/she is open to change, and the want to get better. Here we get into the matter of how boot camps can be decided upon after looking into certain factors, before acting upon the situation at hand.

Deciding Whether Your Child Needs to Go to a Boot Camp

Depending on the following aspects, first check whether your child has performed the following acts, and accordingly base your decision on sending him/her to boot camp.

  • Child is argumentative, offensive and aggressive.
  • Anger issues.
  • Difficulty accepting 'no' as an answer.
  • Misses out on classes at school.
  • Can't take criticism.
  • Often suspended from school. 
  • Not doing well in studies.
  • Self motivation and self-esteem are lacking.
  • Getting into trouble with the law.
  • Drug abuse, and is a part of a gang.
  • Is absent from home for long periods of time.
  • Learning disabilities.
  • Steals from stores, or from personal items at home, like cash or credit cards.
  • Doesn't abide by rules at school or otherwise.
  • Suicidal tendencies.
  • Suffers from either Attention Deficit Disorder, or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
  • Friends are a bad influence.
  • Alcohol consumption.
  • Eating disorders
  • Sexually active, without the use of protection.
  • Suffers from depression or bipolar disorder.

Understanding Boot Camps

Boot camps have a particular way of doing something, like the idea of 'shock incarceration', where kids are put into more reasonably cost-effective programs which have a more intense environment, that are military oriented. Putting a difficult child in boot camp has its share of pros and cons.
The plus side of things showcase that kids 'may' change into better individuals and have good futures planned out for themselves, but the downside is that not all boot camps can successfully release a child, without maybe having intensified his/her issues, or turning him/her into a more aggravated person.
Boot camps, because of their severe methods, fail to give these kids a chance to really find themselves. That is why you need to look out for places that have a more gentle approach, and not one that is so harsh.

Military Boot Camps

These military boot camps for kids, aim at making them more focused, and disciplined, with boot camp training workouts and other programs targeted at letting him/her be more responsible and humane.
Due to boot camps in military style that go overboard in their techniques to 'change' kids - the drawback into sending your child into boot camp, makes them likely to leave with personalities that heighten in a bad way. If you still wish to send him/her off to such a setting, you need to do ample research on places that are not so unforgiving to these kids.

Boot Camps for Boys

Boys should be set in a direction that don't involve a camp with hard programs that involve being constantly riled up, and physically exhausted all the time. Put boys in a place where there are challenging activities like kayaking, rappelling, hiking, trekking etc.
This gives them a chance to redirect their abilities to something worth being physically active for. They can then be open to different subjects, and choose a path that is best suited for them. There are good boot camps that aren't as military influenced as most of them are, that keep a boy growing the way he should.

Fitness Boot Camps

This boot camp from the sound of it, can be pretty tough to put your child into, since it won't be easy to have to deal with constantly being weighed under a physical fitness program 24/7. Make sure that these boot camps have a well planned out day of not just boot camp exercises, but with nurturing and counseling sessions with teens going through problems.
These places need a time for training, and a time to develop one's mind, and talents. Do your research on the place; going there to analyze the boot camp, is a smart way to approach a fitness boot camp.

Free Boot Camps

Free boot camps are usually state funded, and admit teens that have been in the juvenile system. Also known as jail/prison boot camps, these don't ideally make the situation pleasant for a teen, especially if he/she has not been made familiar to the juvenile system.
Some teens who are put into a free boot camp, are taken in without having been in a juvenile jail at all. Once a child leaves boot camp, there are chances he will make friends with those who've been in the system for a long time. This can turn ugly with them not actually changing for the better, but heading into a direction that will only lead to trouble.
This type of camp is mainly for those kids who are constantly breaking the law - this wouldn't seem helpful in the least for a child that you are hoping to transform without delinquent tendencies. It is better to put him/her in a place where there is an actual room for change.
Boot camps are a good idea to send your kids off during the summer holidays. Choosing the right camp is crucial. There's a lot to be learned from these camps, provided your child is put into a place where help is given in a way that doesn't damage his/her personality.

Hopefully, you'll do the right thing when picking out a camp for your child.