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As a child homeschooled since 5 years old myself: _do not do it_. Any academic gains are not worth the social stunting, especially if the child is already shy.

As a child homeschooled since 5 years old myself: _do not do it_. Any academic gains are not worth the social stunting, especially if the child is already shy. Happiness in life is rarely based on academic achievements, but rather on the relationships we build. These relationships are built through social skills, and our interactions with our fellow man. Homeschooling severely stunts this at a very vulnerable time in a child’s life.

whoooooo123 4y ago
I wasn't homeschooled, but I knew homeschooled kids growing up, and they all had friends and active social lives. Homeschooling doesn't have to mean you're locked away never interacting with anybody - in fact my homeschooled acquaintances had lots of friends who themselves were homeschooled, since their parents met through one of the various homeschooling support networks that exists in the UK. Meanwhile I went to school like everyone else from the ages of 5 to 18 and I still came out at the end with the social intelligence of a potted plant. Sending your kids to school doesn't guarantee they'll turn out normal - if that was true then everybody would be normal.
aidenn0 4y ago
I went to a science and tech magnet school for HS, so there were a fair number of homeschooled kids. By winter break freshman year, you couldn't tell most of the homeschooled kids from the rest. In at least two of the exceptions, the kids were specifically homeschooled because they were getting picked on in public school for being socially awkward. Counterfactuals are difficult; I was far more socially awkward than most of the kids in t high school that were homeschooled, and I was in public school from kindergarten. I think it is true that parents home schooling their kids ought not neglect social and emotional skills any more than they should neglect science or math.
- internet_user 4y ago
  where social and emotional skills somehow taught with purpose? or it just happened on its own?
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    If you are asking about the highschool, it just happened on its own.
internet_user 4y ago
What if there is no other option but homeschooling? What helped you with socialization?
- noodlesUK 4y ago
  I personally did sports. I didn't really like it when I was younger (10-13), but I got pretty good when I was a bit older. The flexibility of being homeschooled allowed me to pursue being an athlete more thoroughly through my teenage years whilst not missing out on academics. Luckily my parents had the financial means to let me pursue that (being an athlete on a national team is expensive af). It was probably the single best space for me developing into a relatively well adjusted adult. I wasn't homeschooled before age 10 or so, so caveat emptor with younger kids.
BeetleB 4y ago
Not as many people develop (useful) social skills in school as you may think. It's a reason many, many people (in the US) have very negative experiences in high school and want to forget it.
charlieflowers 4y ago
The thing is, you don't know that you would be better off socially had you gone down the normal path. School suppresses kids and forces them to conform. That's probably the thing it does more strongly than anything else. And it does it even more strongly to shy kids. So you might've missed out on deep friendships, but maybe not. And you almost assuredly missed out on bullying (physical and emotional) and negative, oppressive social pressure during those formative years.

whoooooo123 4y ago

I wasn't homeschooled, but I knew homeschooled kids growing up, and they all had friends and active social lives. Homeschooling doesn't have to mean you're locked away never interacting with anybody - in fact my homeschooled acquaintances had lots of friends who themselves were homeschooled, since their parents met through one of the various homeschooling support networks that exists in the UK. Meanwhile I went to school like everyone else from the ages of 5 to 18 and I still came out at the end with the social intelligence of a potted plant. Sending your kids to school doesn't guarantee they'll turn out normal - if that was true then everybody would be normal.

aidenn0 4y ago

I went to a science and tech magnet school for HS, so there were a fair number of homeschooled kids. By winter break freshman year, you couldn't tell most of the homeschooled kids from the rest. In at least two of the exceptions, the kids were specifically homeschooled because they were getting picked on in public school for being socially awkward. Counterfactuals are difficult; I was far more socially awkward than most of the kids in t high school that were homeschooled, and I was in public school from kindergarten. I think it is true that parents home schooling their kids ought not neglect social and emotional skills any more than they should neglect science or math.

internet_user 4y ago
where social and emotional skills somehow taught with purpose? or it just happened on its own?
- aidenn0 4y ago
  If you are asking about the highschool, it just happened on its own.

internet_user 4y ago

What if there is no other option but homeschooling? What helped you with socialization?

noodlesUK 4y ago
I personally did sports. I didn't really like it when I was younger (10-13), but I got pretty good when I was a bit older. The flexibility of being homeschooled allowed me to pursue being an athlete more thoroughly through my teenage years whilst not missing out on academics. Luckily my parents had the financial means to let me pursue that (being an athlete on a national team is expensive af). It was probably the single best space for me developing into a relatively well adjusted adult. I wasn't homeschooled before age 10 or so, so caveat emptor with younger kids.

BeetleB 4y ago

Not as many people develop (useful) social skills in school as you may think. It's a reason many, many people (in the US) have very negative experiences in high school and want to forget it.

charlieflowers 4y ago

The thing is, you don't know that you would be better off socially had you gone down the normal path. School suppresses kids and forces them to conform. That's probably the thing it does more strongly than anything else. And it does it even more strongly to shy kids. So you might've missed out on deep friendships, but maybe not. And you almost assuredly missed out on bullying (physical and emotional) and negative, oppressive social pressure during those formative years.