Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear it didn't work out for him. I agree that it was probably tough going from never being away at all to without parents to 3 weeks for the first time. Sorry to hear it was so rough for him, sounds like it just wasn't a good fit.
As to kids leaving home I think it totally depends on the kid. Both my kids love getting away from home and it does them a lot of good learning to be independent from mom. (My son can't wait to start camp in two weeks.) My daughter choose to go to college on the other side of the U.S. but she does spend her summers at home and I expect she will move back with us for at least a while after graduating. And while many culture don't push for kids to move far away or leave home, there are just as many that expect kids to be completely on thie own by 18. What works for one kid/family doesn't work for them all. Honestly, I think this is partially an economic issue.
