Do Homeschool Kids Lack Socialization?

5 Tips For Discussing Socialization With Family And Friends

Are homeschooled kids missing out on socialization?

That's a common objection to homeschooling, but is it true?

On the contrary, if you're intentional about it, your homeschool kids can spend more time interacting with a variety or people including peers and adults in different real world situations than kids stuck at a desk all day.

Not to mention, they avoid many of the negative aspects of socialization that occurs at school including bullying, ostracism, "learning" about sensitive topics from other kids, being fed propaganda that may not align with your values, and the list goes on.

This video shares 5 tips for discussing socialization with your family and friends.

1. Know your audience.

Are their intentions good or are they trying to prove a point. When discussing with your friends and family assume they want the best for your kids and are acting in good faith. And realize it can be a touchy subject since everyone wants the best for their kids and your decision to homeschool can feel like an attack on their decision to send their kids to school.

2. Define the terms.

Often people use buzzwords without really understanding what they mean in their own head. Ask them to explain more about what they mean by socialization in their own words. When terms are defined, you can have a discussion about their actual concerns or arguments and not talk past each other.

3. Agree with the premise.

Socialization, or learning how to interact with other people and understanding the norms of the culture is an important part of life. Let them know you value it. You can even flip it on its head, “We think socialization is so important which is one of the main reasons why we homeschool.”

4. Identify different types of socialization.

Socialization isn’t just one thing and it isn’t always a positive thing. Point out some of the negative aspects of school socialization. What are they actually learning in class and does that align with your values? What are they learning from other kids about the world that they maybe shouldn’t be learning or is just wrong. And what about bullying or high pressure or even dangerous situations?

5. Explain the ways your kids get socialization.

Spending time with friends, sports and activities, projects with other kids, drop off classes and camps, free play, etc. But beyond that, your kids can spend more time with adults in different settings and gain a better understanding about how adults interact in the world. In school, the adult is the authority figure and the kids do what they’re told.

Aside from just talking about it though, you need to walk the walk. It’s important for kids to learn how to interact with their peers and the broader community.

That’s partly why the style of home education we advocate is less concerned with structured lessons and academics and more about getting out into the world and doing things.

If you’re new to this channel, I’m Mike and along with my wife April we created Modern Homeschoolers to help homeschool families discover a simpler, more natural way of learning and living that focuses on developing the person over gaining knowledge.

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