There's no doubt that I see one of the biggest benefits to homeschooling as the certainty that I can provide a haven for my children.
The reasons why home school is now the fastest-growing form of education in the US (see our pages on homeschooling statistics) probably means many parents agree with me.
"Haven" conveys a feeling that parents who homeschool are somehow trying to isolate their children from the 'real' world. Yet who says school is representative of real life?
Putting lots of children together with very few adults and seeing what happens sounds more like an experiment to me.
Bullying, sex, drugs, violence – these are all problems which can arise in school. Teachers often do their best, but if your child is unlucky enough to experience them, it's pretty traumatic.
That's where the benefits to homeschooling come in. There's no need to put your child through any of this.
This is your child and their childhood. You don't get another chance at either.
Just have a look at the many advantages of homeschooling and you'll soon see the reasons why I choose to teach my children at home.
The fact is school generates problems and behavior home educating families simply don't have to face and the reasons aren't hard to find.
Having friends is great; being stuck with up to 30 children all day is something else. It's un-natural.
Groups of children unfortunately tend to bring out the worst. The sheer power of peer pressure has been well documented – everything from the latest iPod to the increasing trend towards early sexualization.
Homeschooling benefits include having much more positive ways for your child to make friends and learn how to be a part of society.
You can see the reasons why home school offers a much more grounded way of learning the social skills you need in our page on the so-called social drawbacks of homeschooling.
There are many homeschooling benefits and one of the biggest reasons why parents choose to home school is obvious.
When your child is young and needs guidance most, you're there. You can deal with issues as they arise.
You'll be there when the TV news comes on, friends divorce, Uncle comes out…It's real life; these are real issues in a real world. You can decide what depth to go into and what is appropriate for your child.
You're not relying on teachers to take a moral lead and you're not leaving your child to work it out from the giggles of their peers.
I certainly chose homeschool because it gives you a tremendous opportunity to make learning fun, and this may be one of the reasons why researchers are proving that home school has a great academic advantage.
US home school statistics show that the most important reasons parents gave for why they chose home school was to offer religious or moral instruction (36%).
There were significant other reasons for choosing homeschooling, such as the choice of available schools and wishing to provide a non-traditional learning experience.
Even the best school has its problems. Take smoking, alcohol, joy-riding, graffiti, playground hierarchies – they're all there (and more) wherever your child goes.
One of the benefits to homeschooling which is most important to me is using the boundaries of parental guidance to create a secure environment where my children know fairness and respect and can become the individuals they want to be.
If you decide to homeschool, there are a few bad things about homeschooling you'll have to face - explaining your reasons to the relatives being one of them!
But overall you'll find there are many advantages.
And that leads on to the benefits to homeschooling which come from a more balanced family life.
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Homeschooling › Pros And Cons › Benefits
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