ABSTRACT
The accumulated effect of living for years without love is a common and enduring aspect of the psychological impact of boarding. The lack of love, felt so acutely in the first stages of prep school, is noticeable again in relation to the bodily changes that occur during puberty. Young children who lose their homes miss appropriate physical contact and emotional understanding. At puberty this need for caring adults intensifies again, because – even though they are more mature – their bodily changes may be confusing or even in some cases worrying. Intimate care from loving adults enables the development of the sense of an integrated, embodied and emotional self. When this individual attention is lacking, the child may feel at a loss but without realising why.
