Boot camps are military-style, semi-penal institutions that use discipline, military exercises, and rigorous physical training to "break" a defiant adolescent and supposedly return home a "good soldier" who will obey authority, follow rules, and improve behavior at home and school. There is no therapy, no psychological intervention to address underlying emotional or behavioral problems that may have been developing over many years. The theory is that a swift "kick in the pants" will turn around a child who has probably been acting out for years. There is more than one type of boot camp. Some are state-run substitutes for juvenile jail. Some are privately run "get tough" camps where the "guards" enforce strict rules.

Some of them are there for no other reason than to challenge the student to follow the rules or break them, force physical exertion (forced long runs and obstacle courses), and generally shake up the child's perception of reality. Of course, this isn't reality. Most of us do not live in a boot camp or military atmosphere in the real world. These boot camps were created as a short-term alternative to military boarding schools. The idea is that you break the child's will (spirit?) and teach them that they are not the center of the universe.