One of the most commonly raised objections to homeschooling is the issue of socialisation. People often think that if a family is going to homeschool their children that the children are not going to have normal interaction with other people and grow up to be socially inept. Here are some things to consider:

Why have we absorbed a viewpoint that socialisation is about being in a class with one’s peers? If we think about that isn’t it rather unnatural to do most of our mixing with people the same age as ourselves? Socialisation is about the whole range of relationships a child is in, for example with parents, siblings, church family, members of sports teams etc. as well as friends of all ages. Children learn to relate to different age groups as they have the chance to mix with them. Homeschooling means that parents have more time with their children and therefore children are exposed to the wisdom and maturity they have rather than that of their peers.

We tend to model out behaviour on the group that we identify with and for teenagers being accepted and part of the group is very important. Therefore the pressure to conform to their peers can be a negative thing.  I Corinthian 15:33 reminds us that: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Homeschooling parents have the control over whom their children mix with; control that they lose once their children are in school.

Click here to read an article by Craig Smith which examines the research on this topic.