Internationally, high schools are feeding grounds for social cliques, strategic playground seating arrangements, cyber bullying and mean girl queen bees who torment the nice kids who fall prey to them. For a parent, it is heartbreaking to stand on the sidelines watching these girls rule the school.

In an article titled Five Steps for Taking the Sting out of the Queen Bee, Mary Beth Sammons shared the results of a community poll on the Circle of Moms website. The top suggestions for helping  daughters cope with bullying behaviour were:

1. Listen Up – Keeping the lines of communication open means you’re in the loop and she won’t feel that she’s alone. Open communication is valuable to a teen dealing with mean girls.
2. Encourage New Friendships – Encourage your daughter to find a new circle of friends.
3. Be a Role Model – Model how caring, respectful people treat each other.
4. Phone Home – Tell her that she can always call or text you if she needs help or a friendly voice.
5. Teach Her to Trust Her Gut – Encourage your daughter to pay attention to her feelings. If someone is being mean or rude or abusive to her, explain how important it is not to discount those gut feelings. It’s better to walk away than be hurt.

For some parents, the range of boarding school options on offer is daunting. With more than 30 schools in one location at some of our Expo sites, there is a lot of information to digest. Our Checklist of questions to ask schools when you are trying to make a decision about your child’s education is proving very popular.

Some of the questions we have suggested are aimed at getting people to think about the day-to-day logistics that will impact on their lives and how well their children settle in to the boarding school routine. We suggest questions like:

Is the school close to public transport for sporting activities and other outings?

Is the school easy for us to visit as a family or for family and friends who may take my child out for the weekend?

Are there other facilities close by that the school uses for after school and weekend outings?

We also challenge you to think about the impact of technology and what facilities and access will be available to your child in these quickly changing times. For example:

Will your child have access to a mobile phone; Are there computers in the boarding house; and How is internet usage monitored?

Parents should also think about how each school communicates with parents and how often you will be able to talk to or have contact with your child.