Day boarding schools manifest themselves in different ways in different societies. For example, in some societies children start boarding school at an earlier age than in others. In some societies, a tradition has developed in which families send their children to the same boarding school for generations.
One of the reasons sometimes stated for sending children to boarding schools is to develop wider horizons than their family can provide. A boarding school attended by a family for generations may define the culture parents aspire to for their children. Equally, by choosing a fashionable boarding school, parents may aspire to enable their children to mix on equal terms with children of the upper classes. However, such stated reasons may not be only reasons for sending a child away from home.
Traditional boarding schools do not allow students to venture out of the school albeit vacations. Parents often admit the situation is stressful but they had no other option then.
Contact between students and their families were somewhat restricted as students remained at the school for eight to nine months of the year. Relatives could visit briefly at prescribed times. School administrators worked constantly to keep the students at school and eradicate all vestiges of their native cultures.