The fact I had a more comfortable early life than you and didn't busy myself braining raccoons with a Lousiana slugger is irrelevant, although I whacked my share of pidgeons , squirrels and rats with my wrist rocket slingshot in Rio and New York in the fun days of my privileged youth.  The big floating eggs are designed precisely to avoid having to live out in the bush practicing survival skills and BBQing roadkill.  I'm no Cody Lundin or Eustace Conway, and even in my best years after wilderness camps I doubt I would have lasted long living the full primitive.

On the other hand, I'm darn good at wiring up parts scavenged up from auto junkyards to keep my EV wheelchairs running and modifying them to take trailers and lift me off the ground if I fall.  I'm a good plumber and carpenter and I've done a decent amount of welding, though that isn't a real strong point and I would need to mess with the equipment more to get really good at it.  I'm an expert chemist and know how to recycle and build batteries, do extractions from plants to make basic medicines , cleaning agents and preservatives, poisons and anti-toxins.  I know medicine and anatomy and I could put in a trach tube or set a broken bone, extract a bullet and sew up a wound, and if no doctor was around I think I could remove an inflamed appendix without killing the patient.    Keeping it from getting infected would be the biggest problem if good antibiotics weren't available, but we should start off with a good stock and could  work on making more, though we would need a good biochem lab for that.  I've never run a nuclear reactor but the principles are pretty straightforward and tidal generators are right up my alley.  So I think I would have been a pretty handy person to have around in the floating town, particularly since I'm designing it. lol.  Of course, I am talking about the me before I was 50, not the me of today.

While I have never bred any of my own kids, I've taught thousands of them and I had a full year of experience as a 10 year old, lol.  I was perfectly capable at age 10 on evaluating what I wanted to do, and if I wanted to go on a roller coaaster I did even if my mom didn't want to go and didn't think it was a great idea for me either, I got on planes to fly alone to other countries and I lived away from home for full summer camps starting when I was 8.  I picked out the camps too from the ACA book listing all the approved ones, their amenities and what they specialized in.  I don't see this decision as all that much different, just it's permanent.  That would have made it more difficult, but frankly I wasn't all that attached to either of my parents.  I already lost one of them in the divorce anyhow, though I did get to go see him a couple of times a year.

Now, I wouldn't consider myself the average 10 y/o, but over the course of my life I worked with enough of them who I think were capable enough and independent enough to make such a decision.  I definitely would have wanted the opportunity myself, so I am sure there are other ones out there like me who also would like the opportunity.  They would have to take the battery of tests to evaluate their psychological ability to do this just like everyone else of course.

This kind of separation isn't that odd, the Brit upper class has been sending their kids off to Boarding School at 7 years old for generations.  The Russians and Chinese would go out to local elementary schools looking for athletically gifted children to live at their Olympic training facilities, and intelectually gifted children to train as scientists and engineers.  They were quite successful with both programs.

Unlike the Commies back in Mother Russia, I wouldn't forcibly remove the kids whether the parents or kids wanted it or not, I would give both of them Veto power.If kid wants to go but parents veto, no go.  If parents want the kid to go but kid vetoes, no go.  As I
 mentioned though, I sure wouldn't veto my kid's adventure, the kid would hate you for life, particularly if/when the lights do go out.  I'll pass on that.

RE