What You Do Not Know About Homeschooling

Many parents think homeschooling is the answer to all their problems. Some will find out the hard way that they were sadly mistaken. Before taking the leap into homeschooling your child, you may first want to consider some of the disadvantages.

You need to realize that by homeschooling your child, the fate of his or her education rests in your hands. No one else but you is to be blamed if your child is lacking in skills that other children exceed expectations in. If your child lacks common skills that are expected and demonstrated in other children of a similar age, it will make you look not only like a bad teacher, but even a bad parent. You can not deny your child the same advantages that other children have.

Many parents do not realize that by jumping into homeschooling, they are giving up most of their time. They no longer have all the free hours to spend with friends, on random shopping trips, or even on personal time with your spouse. You have to dedicate most of your time to your child and his or her education. You may think "I'm ready for that" but it can be very difficult once you are in that situation. Any parent who is committed to his or her child's education can not realistically have a career on top of that. You should be sure that your family's financial situation is ready to become a single income household, that is, assuming someone else in the house works. You most likely will have to switch to a very strict budget.

You also have to remember that your child's education comes first. There is no "calling out" just because you want a day off. You cannot just ignore your child's study needs because the laundry is waiting for you. Your child's education is at the top of your "to do" list all day, everyday. Even after school hours, you need to be available to help your child with his or her homework, like every other parent does. For most homeschooling parents, this means more then 12 hours of work a day. That's not including the number of hours you need to spend away from the books with your child, to ensure that he or she does not become bored with life.

You will also need to spend extra time with your child carting him or her to various sports or activities outside the home, to be sure that they are getting enough interaction with other children and adults. This is an important part of your child's development. Children need exposure to the real world, otherwise, when they are thrust into it unaware, they may have difficult time coping. Don't you remember that special friend from your childhood? Where did you meet them? Chances are it was at school or a public activity.

Homeschoolers may also have a harder time earning their GED. Without a diploma, it is difficult to get a good job in today's society. By homeschooling your child, you are reducing their chances of really succeeding in life. Not to mention, if they do get a good job, and their boss expects them to train or learn, they will likely have a difficult time without someone holding their hand and walking them through the process. Self learning is a skill developed mainly in public school systems, and may not fully learned at home.

As you can see, the disadvantages to homeschooling your child are things that you need to strongly consider. Homeschooling is not the walk in the park that you might have envisioned. Before taking your child's education out of the classroom and into the kitchen, you should give great consideration to the life long affects it will have on your child as well as your own.