Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

Thinking about homeschooling your child? Here’s why it’s a bad idea

If you want to homeschool, consider these reasons not to homeschool first

Dawn Miller
By
Mom homeschooling two kids

Homeschooling isn’t necessarily a new educational concept. The process where children are educated at home by their parents has been around for ages. It wasn’t until the 70s that the practice gained in popularity. The late 90s and early 2000s also saw a resurgence in the number of students being homeschooled. Numbers again increased during the pandemic after remaining at around 3% since 2012, according to the United States Census Bureau.

The reasons parents may choose homeschooling over conventional education usually involve safety concerns, flexibility, frequent moving, and wanting to create a more individualized learning environment. While the idea of homeschooling your child might be attractive, it’s actually not as simple as you may think. Before removing your child from school, consider these reasons not to homeschool.

Recommended Videos

Legal requirements for homeschooling

Homeschooling isn’t as easy as just not sending your child back to school. There are legal requirements for homeschooling children, and they differ in each state. Some states like New York and Pennsylvania have stricter guidelines, while others like Florida have few. Before making the decision to remove your child from school, take the time to review the homeschooling laws for the state you live in.

Commitments involved in homeschooling

Making the decision to homeschool means one parent is about to become your child’s full-time teacher. The idea that school can now easily become a year-round activity is an attractive one, but for the parent doing the teaching, it’s another full-time job. In addition to being a parent and all that responsibility it entails, you’re about to become your child’s teacher, tutor, and principal. You will also be in charge of creating multiple daily lesson plans and researching curriculum, as well as finding materials. If you have multiple children, you will be planning and teaching for different age groups.

Frustrated mom homeschooling her children

Inability to work outside of the home

When choosing to homeschool, at least one parent must be home all day. The time commitment to homeschooling means it will be difficult for the homeschooling parent to manage a job outside of the home. A work-at-home job would still be stressful to maintain along with the rigors of homeschooling, even with its flexibility.

Cost of homeschooling

While the loss of one household income is challenging on its own, there will be costs associated with homeschooling. Unlike public schools, books and materials aren’t provided. Sure, parents pay for school supplies and field trips when their children go to school, but they don’t have to pay for the daily resources teachers use to teach. Homeschooling will involve spending money on books and additional resources needed to educate your child. Costs will be higher if you’re homeschooling multiple kids.

Missed opportunities for your children

While the conventional school environment does have its drawbacks, it also has its pluses, especially as your children age. Homeschooling takes away the opportunity for kids to participate in social, athletic, and artistic activities. Since your children aren’t members of the school district, they will not be able to play on any sports teams or be a part of the music or drama programs. Children also won’t have the opportunity to experience certain hands-on classes like chemistry unless you happen to have a lab in your home.

Socialization

As many people found out during the lockdown, too much togetherness isn’t necessarily a good thing. When children go to school, they interact with other kids and adults through social and classroom situations. When homeschooling, kids are spending all day, every day, with you and their siblings. Sure, you can search out other homeschoolers in your area, but there is something to be said about educational time away from home with peers.

Why not to homeschool

Choosing to homeschool your children isn’t a decision to make lightly, especially if it comes on the heels of an issue with a specific teacher or a problem at school. Homeschooling is not as easy as some parents assume, and the process becomes more difficult as your child gets older. It’s even more involved if you’re going to be homeschooling multiple children. Before deciding to homeschool your child, take the time to look at the drawbacks, starting with the legal requirements of your state.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dawn Miller
Dawn Miller
Contributor
Dawn Miller began her professional life as an elementary school teacher before returning to her first love, writing. In…
Can these methods really help predict your baby’s gender? Get the scoop here
Find out if these baby gender predictors are accurate
A couple holding a gender reveal balloon

Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in a person's life and one that involves making a lot of decisions. Before you even get pregnant, you may have already decided if you're going to find out the sex of your baby or let it be a surprise. Some people want to know in advance so they can plan accordingly, while others are happy to wait until the baby arrives to find out if they are having a boy or a girl.
Regardless of how you feel about the subject of baby gender predictors, people are going to share their opinions on whether you're having a boy or a girl, and the reasons for those opinions! So can those old wives' tales and different methods of gender predicting really help tell you your baby's sex? Maybe, or maybe not! Let's explore the different ways to determine a baby's gender.

Ultrasound
When it comes to determining the sex of your unborn baby, the ultrasound is the gold standard. Throughout any person's pregnancy, they will undergo a series of ultrasounds to ensure the baby is growing accordingly, and an ultrasound technician can typically determine the baby's sex during an anatomy scan anywhere between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Read more
3-year-olds: Why threenagers are a breed
Are 3-year-old meltdowns normal? These tips can help you navigate them
A dad holding a child who is crying

Before you became a parent, you may have heard of the "terrible twos." The age is reportedly hallmarked by tantrums and boundary (and parental button) pushing.

No one warned you about what it was like to raise 3-year-olds, or as some call them, "threenagers." The term derives from the idea that your three-year-old acts like they’re going on 13. The sass, eye-rolling, back talk, and rebellious nature are challenges you thought you had another decade to prepare for — but your kid had other ideas.

Read more
There are actually some helpful benefits of tongue twisters for kids
Tongue twisters are a laugh, but did you know they are also a useful learning tool?
teenagers getting twisted over tongue twisters

Ready to get twisted? With tongue twisters that is! November 12 is National Tongue Twister Day, but you don't need to put those pickled peppers Peter Piper picked in a pot nor do you need to save tongue twisters for the fall. Tongue twisters have been around for ages and are simply a phrase that's hard for people to say clearly, especially when spoken quickly. Of course, tongue twisters don't have meaning and they're always a laugh, but did you know tongue twisters for kids can actually be helpful?
Benefits of tongue twisters
Many people might think of tongue twisters as a silly thing to do at a party. The big laugh always comes when someone says a tongue twister incorrectly. Sure, tongue twisters are fun, but saying them does serve a purpose, especially for the kiddos. Don't worry! Our tongues won't get twisted talking about these surprising perks of tongue twisters.
Pronunciation
Since people try hard to say tongue twisters correctly, the practice actually helps speakers to articulate clearly and work on word pronunciation.
Developing speech muscles
Yes, people have speech muscles, and saying tongue twisters can help develop the muscles in the tongue used in pronouncing words. This's why tongue twisters are a great way to warm up those speech muscles before an oral presentation. Tongue twisters are also used to help kids and adults with stuttering.
Improve reading and language skills
Another added benefit of saying Sally sells seashells by the seashore is that tongue twisters for kids help improve fluency when speaking. Tongue twisters also expand vocabulary. Both of these perks translate into enhancing reading skills.
Learning English
Teachers often use tongue twisters in class with kids for the reasons previously mentioned. Tongue twisters are also a wonderful tool for kids and adults learning English.
Popular tongue twisters for kids
The key to saying tongue twisters is to try to say them three times fast. That's usually where tongue twisters trip up people, though some of us have difficulty saying them slowly. Here are a few popular tongue twisters to use in the car with kids, at a party, or just because.

Which witch is which?
He threw three free throws.
A snake sneaks to sneak a snack.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.
Four fine fresh fish for you.
I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards.
We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

Read more