About boot camps

"Boot camps" is a name broadly applied to a wide variety of programs that help troubled youth or teens. Typically Canada has a low tolerance for these kinds of programs, especially the harsher elements of this industry. Schools listed below answer what parents are looking for when they seek out boot camps.

It should also be noted that we also list weight loss camps which can also called kids fitness boot camps.

Boot camps are sought out by some parents as a quick fix to help children involved with drugs, promiscuity and any other self-destructive behaviour. But Gordon Hay of Venture Academy, a residential treatment facility and an expert on troubled teens, says boot camps are "on the way out." He notes that boot camps have traditionally focused on things like discipline and physical conditioning, much like army training camps on which they were modeled and named after.

While these camps can appear to help teens, the improvement often does not last long. The focuses of these camps are largely external, while what is truly required is treatment and rehabilitation focused on internal changes like self-esteem and coping mechanisms. The drills, ceremony and discipline of boot camps does not teach students real skills to move past delinquent behaviour, according to Hay and many other experts in the "troubled teen" industry.

Should you send your child to a boot camp?
A traditional boot camp can have benefits to teens in that it can get them away from their negative environment, from access to harmful substances and force them to take perspective on negative behaviours. Boot camps can be a catalyst for change but they typically do not go deep enough in teaching children better behaviours.

Some youth do benefit from these programs, away from the pressures of a public school environment or the presence of drugs, etc. The schools listed below have developed sensitive treatment programs that focus on kids owning their behaviour, developing appropriate life skills and learning to avoid negative behaviour and situations.

Consult each school or camp listed here or anywhere on our site to find out the effectiveness of their programs and solutions.

Disclaimer
For the purpose of the discussion above, we focus on boot camps, being a term that many parents seek out when distressed by troubled adolescents. The term "boot camp" for troubled teens is used often as loose terminology for "wilderness treatment" for troubled teens or "military school" for troubled teens. While many of the programs and schools listed below deal with troubled youth, they may not wish to qualify themselves as "boot camps" per se.