© Beverley Paine

"If you homeschool your kids they are not going to know how to be social as an adult and if you don't expose them to the negativity that is in the world then they won't know how to deal with it when they get out there on their own."

I realised very early on that most people weren't that interested in why my children were homeschooled, or how they will eventually turn out. Their questions were often quick reactions to the idea of homeschooling, with little thought beforehand, kind of like something to say that sounded as if they were really interested. That's why the questions are always the same old 'what about socialisation', 'they won't learn to cope in the big bad world', 'what about university'... Often it depends on who the person is and what they consider most important in life.

Many times I've taken the time to respond thoughtfully and people begin to stare off into space. Silly me. They're really not interested. And then there are those who feel defensive, and are asking because they feel the need to beat you into submission, to see the error of your ways and do it their way, so as to reassure them that they aren't making a big mistake by not homeschooling their children. Parents and in-laws can be really defensive, because you homeschooling your kids is like saying they weren't good enough parents. In fact, most of my friends felt 'judged' in this way by our decision to homeschool. I finally ended up by prefacing any answer to any homeschooling question by saying "homeschooling isn't for everyone, only weirdos do it, and we never know how it will turn out, but if things don't work out the kids will be back in school, for sure." That's the magical line almost every inquirer wants to hear...

The other magical line that worked everytime for busybodies that weren't really interested: "our homeschool is approved by the government" (whether it was or it wasn't). The number of people that simply shut up and went about their business after hearing this was amazing. Even the ones that looked ready to brow beat me to death!

If people are really interested in our children's welfare they will ask more intelligent questions.

If you liked this article and want more of the same, read:

• An Asnwer to Questions about Socialisation
• Enough About Socialisation Already!
• Are Children Really Happy to be at Home with their Parents all Day?
• School Socialistion is Addictive
• How Important is it for our Children to Be Around Other Children?
• Homeschooling and the Myth of Socialisation