You misunderstand socialization. You're not learning explicit skills. You're learning implicit, semi or involuntary communicative behaviors. Similar to those n

You misunderstand socialization. You're not learning explicit skills. You're learning implicit, semi or involuntary communicative behaviors. Similar to those not learnt by animals who cannot behave properly because they were not socialized when young. But for humans it's more involved. We are essentially talking about a certain common cultural fabric and the problem is that if you don't fit that fabric, you will be at a disadvantage. Making friends, dating, interacting with coworkers - there's a critical window to keep your kids from turning into someone the average person would perceive as "weird". And the behaviors are subtle. Things like posture, voice tone, word pronunciation - I think "nerds" evoke a certain uncanny valley response in some people. That's a risk of homeschooling. It may not be ideal but human nature is such that humans typically expect, on average, some degree of conformity. If personality and behavior are multidimensional vector, we're talking about an emergent clustering force, transmitted by socialization. Edit: I speak from the experience of having spent years trying to catch up.