Does home schooling cause anti-social behavior?

Answer 1

Only anti-social parents can cause anti-social homeschooled kids. Those children that have been exposed to others will not be anti-social.

Answer 2

Homeschooling itself doesn't. How parents might homeschool could.

Homeschooling is a form of parenting. If parents don't raise their children to be sociable, then it will cause problems. Just take a look at me: my mother never had people over so I never knew what it took to be a host in your own home. And I wasn't homeschooled.

Someone's own personality is definitely a factor, too.

As for Melissa's comment about parents needing a break, which has nothing to do with the question asked, parents who need a break take a break. It's no different than being at home when your kids are not yet school age. Some people handle that just fine and others not at all. I find it's actually quite easier when they're older in the sense that I'm not chasing after toddlers or anything like that. Also, before schools became popular, people spent millennia with their kids at home. Don't see why we are so magically different that we need more breaks today than people of the past did.

Answer 3

I think what some people read as "anti-social" or "snooty" in homeschoolers is really a maturity beyond what is expected of them. I recently had a friend tell me that she had a converstaion with my 11yo son (without me being present) and he was very polite and not the least bit intimidated by her (he hadn't seen her in years, so no, it wasn't just that he was comfortable around her).

There are enough students who are homeschooling to be a microcosm of kids in general, so you're going to find all different personality types - social, shy, talkative, quiet, extrovert, introvert, ... And, of course, a lot depends on the parents and whether they allow their children to interact much with others.

Public or private school is not the only place you have social interactions. Libraries, stores, the post office, the bank, volunteer positions all require people to interact with people. Because my kids have been pushed to answer the questions of adults (like shouldn't you be in school right now?), they are comfortable talking to just about anyone. This can be bad, too, as they have not yet developed the sixth sense of who they should and should not trust. However, I'd rather they not lose that innocence at 6 or 7 or 8 years old because some bully in school threatened them.

Answer 4

No. Home school does not cause anti-social behavior.

I know first hand that home educated children are well mannered and become good citizens. Most of the children that I know are not anti-social. It doesn't matter whether they were in public school or at home.

But the few children I know that don't know how to behave in public are all products of the gov't school education system.

BTW: My children study at home all the way through high-school. Then they choose to join the ranks of the employed or go to college.

Answer 5

It depends on what types of activities the parents have the children in. I most certainly do not think it causes "holier than though" behaviour. Some kids are just shy..period...I went to public school my whole entire life...I am very anti social just because I am a shy person by nature. My son, has been homeschooled his whole life and he is the most outgoing person I have ever known..he has never met a stranger.

Answer 6

No, home-schooling by itself should not cause a child to exhibit anti-social behavior. If a home-schooled child is showing anti-social tendencies, then either that child already has emotional problems that would manifest in a regular school situation as well, or the parents have not allowed the child to socialize with other children his or her own age, which would stunt the child's natural social growth.

Most home-schooled children I know have been highly involved in activities at their churches (most home-schooled kids come from a conservative Christian background), and therefore get social interaction with their peers one or two times a week. Many others are still involved with extra-curricular activities like music lessons, dance, sports or youth groups.

The biggest adjustment for home-schooled children is when they get to high school, where they will have to learn to deal with other children and all the typical school issues. Home-schooled children will no longer get as much individual attention as they did from their parents. They will have to learn to deal with distractions that they didn't have when they were at home alone. They will have to learn to deal with other students, many of whom may not take their studies as serious, and thus may disrupt class or even pick on the home-schooled kids.

The biggest potential "anti-social" behavior is simply extreme shyness. I went to high school with a girl who was home-schooled through 8th grade, and when she got to the public high school, she was way behind in social skills. She rarely spoke at all in class, and even when she did respond, her voice was so soft, none of the rest of the class could hear her. And the irony of it was that her mother was on the school board, and her older brother, who was also home-schooled through 8th grade, was one of the most outgoing people I knew.

So while home-schooling by itself won't cause any form of anti-social behavior, not allowing the child to socialize outside of the house will.

Answer 7

Not necessarily. I was home schooled for a good amount of my school years and I came out sociable and with self esteem. I also came out ahead of my class when I did start school, they wanted me to skip a grade even- which I didn't. I truly think it depends on how the parents treat their child, whether they are in public school or learning at home. Some of the snottiest kids I know go to public school, but don't recieve proper discipline, help, and/ or attention at home. A child's behavior starts at home.. period.

Answer 8

It can. That is why there are so many groups for kids that are home schooled. They get together and socialize. Parents get together and discuss lessons and stuff. This doesn't cause snotty attitudes. My daughter is home schooled and is not snotty. Snotty parents cause snotty kids. Most home schooled kids don't think they are better than any one else. They just are taught in a different way.

Answer 9

I wouldn't say "anti-social", but maybe un-socialized. Home schooled kids don't learn to work with others and that can cause them difficulties later. Parents who choose to home school their children should find other ways to put their children in social situations- like church or a playground- but even those things don't build the skills or the network that a child gets by going to school with other kids.

Answer 10

I'm currently homeschooled.
I wouldn't say it causes anti-social behavior, but it really depends on how well the guardian educates the child on behavioral patterns, and also how much freedom the child has.
I don't have much freedom, but I have several very good friends, and we talk often.