When home schooling children how do they develop social skills???

Question

That seems so cruel to children to deprive them from social interaction with other children. Children need to interact and learn from peers and develop friendships. If you keep them home in the dark they will enter their adult world environment at such a great disadvantage. They will be conned, cheated and ignorant of their world around them.

Answer 1

Children learn important social skills by being with people of varying ages. They learn to share with their siblings and friends, and they learn to communicate better by being exposed to older people who communicate better. Positive socialization is one reason I choose homeschooling for my children.

How does spending your entire day with age-grouped peers prepare you to socialize in the diverse real world? When I worked in the corporate environment I dealt with people 10,20, 30 and even 40 years older than me. There may have been five people in my whole department who were even close to me in age.

How many times are best friends separated at school, lest they talk during class? How many schools now have silent lunches because they think it helps to maintain discipline (to the detriment of socialization)?

How many children are bullied without any interference from the school staff? If that's what passes for socialization at school, you can have it. My children have more time and opportunities to socialize at home than in a school environment. They play with neighborhood friends on a daily basis (who, by the way, complain about school and wish they could be homeschooled!). We have a large group of homeschooled friends, and the kids have group classes in things like Chinese together. They also accompany me to the bank, library, supermarket, and post office, where they interact with a diverse group of people in the real world (the good and the bad ones!)

They spend a large amount of time with their siblings, as opposed to separated from them. This results in much less competition and from what I have seen first hand, very strong sibling friendships.

Another benefit for the kids is they live in the real world right from the start - they interact with people of all ages and socioeconomic situations. They are not "kept at home in the dark"!
They volunteer in the community. They take classes with a group of children interested in the same thing. They participate in scouts, 4H, gymnastics, sports teams, choir and band - all with public, private, and other homeschooled children. They form friendships with people who share common interests, rather than being restricted to those in the same randomly assigned age restricted classroom.

Homeschooled kids have more opportunities to "learn social skills to cope with the outside world" than public school kids because they are in the outside world now - not the artificial world of public school.

Answer 2

I was homeschooled for 11 years. I 'developed' social skills through church programs, homeschool sports teams, drama clubs, and classes run by other homeschoolers and by having a job. There was rarely a day that I was home all day. I also had alot of friends by doing things through the public school system. This year I have entered public school as a senior and I get asked this question alot. I really don't think I was 'deprived' when I was homeschooled. I have had no problem adjusting to the public school system and I pulled a 4.0 GPA last semester. I have also made alot of new friends. So I think that homeschooling does not affect a persons social skills.

Answer 3

Home schooled children get plenty of interaction.We have organizations for our children.They play on little league teams,bowling leagues,and a list of other activities.Some go to karate classes,dance,gymnastics.We don't live in caves or anything.We live in neighborhoods with other children to play with.My son is home schooled and has been since prek.And he is very well socialized.He plays with the other children in our community.He is on a bowling league and has several trophies on the wall.People like you whom make assumptions about our way of life is the biggest hurdle our children have.My son has more advantages than all of his friends whom are traditionally schooled combined.He gets real life experience not just book knowledge.Besides being in regular school doesn't guarantee you will not be a social outcast.Their are plenty of traditionally schooled kids whom have no life and no friends.

Answer 4

Who ever thought it was a good idea to have middle school kids hang out with a bunch of other middle school kids for the majority of the day had no experience with them. They are not a good influence on each other. As a public school teacher who has worked with all ages, this is the worst age group of kids to have together for long periods. These kids need the calming influences of adults, older kids, and even younger kids so they can feel comfortable just being a kid.

I have also worked with a lot of home school kids. These are some of the best socialized kids you will meet. They can carry on a conversation with an adult while looking them in the eye and even understand what is being said. And they don’t always have to throw in some hip slang, but can when they deem it appropriately funny. Really, it is an out dated idea to think that kids need to be with same age kids for so many hours a day.

Answer 5

your premise is a false one. home schooling does not deprive children of social interaction with other children.

edit:In July 2000, the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think-tank, published an extensive report on homeschooling written by Senior Fellow Dr. Patricia Lines. She describes several controlled studies comparing the social skills of homeschoolers and nonhomeschoolers.

The homeschoolers scored as "well adjusted." In one study, trained counselors viewed videotapes of mixed groups of homeschooled and schooled children at play. The counselors didn't know the school status of each child. The results? The homeschooled kids demonstrated fewer behavioral problems. Dr. Lines' conclusion? "There is no basis to question the social development of homeschooled children."

Answer 6

Homeschooled children can join groups through organizations other than school. Sports, church groups, boy/girl scouts, charity functions, etc. Some areas even have groups of homeschooled kids that do activites together, go on field trips and things. Home schooled children aren't deprived of social interaction.

Answer 7

Homeschooled children interact with other children. There are many homeschooling co-ops for homeschoolers. There are extracurriculars offered through the community.
You obviously have never experienced homeschooling. I have.
There are a few bad examples, but, overall, it depends on how the parents handle the situation. (But there are also bad examples in every other schooling environment). Most parents handle it just fine. A few do not handle it as well at the expense of their children. This, however, is not the norm. Most homeschooling parents make sure that their children get interaction with other children.
You, however, need to do research before you assume something like this.

Answer 8

Are you trying to imply that before mandatory schooling existed, before most people went to school, that parents were being cruel to their children by not sending them to school? That those children were deprived? PLEASE think about what you are saying!! How many THOUSANDS of years did people live in society without mandatory schooling? Without being surrounded by 30 kids the same age each day?

I believe that not only have you not considered the more long-range facts, but that you have the mistaken notion that homeschooled kids do not interact with other people. This is so ridiculous. There are homeschooling groups galore, there are community activities, there are summer camps... Are public schooled kids deprived of social interaction during the summer months? Of course not. Why should it be any different for the homeschooled child?

My children do interact. Primarily with each other but also with other homeschoolers we know, family (they have cousins about the same age) and kids in lessons they take. They do have friends. They are not kept home in the dark (we've got lots of lightbulbs ;) ). They are well aware of what goes on in the outside world--we're out and about often.

There's also the mistaken notion that they are going to 'enter the adult world' at some point. You know what? They are already a part of it. They're not kept hidden from it in a building where it's mainly just kids around them. They go with me on errands, they talk to the librarian and clerks, they talk with adults at homeschooling activities, they go on field trips and pay. They know about bullies and experience them sometimes on the playgrounds. They have PLENTY of experience in dealing with problems between two people. They are learning about the dangers of drugs and diseases that exist and all kinds of things.

But you know, maybe you're right: the Roosevelts, Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson and many others were "conned, cheated and ignorant of the world around them". Uh huh.

Answer 9

I was home-schooled. I was definitely NOT deprived socially. I was involved w/ our church youth group. I had a job. I met w/ other home-schooled children twice a week for group studies, field trips, etc. I was involved in local sports programs. I dated guys in public schools (so I got to go to all the dances LOL) You just figure out ways to get out there & get involved. If anything it makes you more social & It teaches you to take initiative.

Answer 10

Simple: A homeschooled kid doesn't spend all of his time at home.

Little kids go to play groups and day care and all the same stuff other kids do.

Teenagers spend most of their time outside the home taking other classes.

Homeschooling is really a misnomer, since we're really never at home.

Answer 11

I don't home school but I know some parents who do and their children are very well socialized with their peers. The parents accomplish this by getting their children involved in community activities like boy/girl scouts, the Boys & Girls Club, community children's theater, summer camps, etc.