Disadvantages of Homeschooling

Have you been searching the internet for and honest answer about the disadvantages of homeschooling? I searched for the pros and cons of homeschooling and didn't come up with anything that wasn't spun into a positive. I thought to myself, "That's great that homeschoolers have such a positive attitude and want me to know about all the benefits to homeschooling, but COME ON! what are some bad things about homeschooling?!?"

Now that I have lived the lifestyle for years, I thought I'd share some of our experiences and my personal feelings from over the years. Not that these cons of homeschooling can't be be managed, but they are real issues that you may have to deal with if you make the decision to homeschool.

Four Disadvantages of Homeschooling

1. The kids are yours ALL the time.

I know what you're thinking..."that is what I want, more time with the kids." But let's look at that from a few different perspectives.

First, and probably most obvious, you will have to become a one income family or put a considerable amount of time and effort figuring out how to juggle work schedules and/or homeschool friendly childcare in order to make homeschooling work. For some like me, this isn't really an issue because being a stay at home mom was already a way of life. Your family will have to decide if this is one of the disadvantages of homeschooling or a choice you would have made anyway.

Second, homeschooling means you don't have a built in babysitter called school when you have a doctor's appointment, hair appointment, need to shop for groceries, or just want to have coffee with the girls. The kids go with you everywhere, or you fork out money for a babysitter (if you can find one during the day when most teens are in school - even homeschooling teens have alot going on during the day, so they aren't always available.)

Third, you think your house is a mess now...try having kids home all day working on projects, making and eating snacks and lunches, changing their clothes three times a day, having to have extra space to store all the books and supplies you need. Sure, the idea is to get them to help more since they are home more, but it doesn't always work that way.

Fourth, this might sound like I'm a bad mom but I'm just being honest. Sometimes you just need a break! This happened more when my kids were younger and more dependent. You know the drill, "mom, Mom, MOM, MOM, MOM!" Every now and then it just grates on your last nerve and there is no escape...except maybe locking yourself in the bathroom.

Fifth, kids aren't always enthusiastic about doing what you want them to do. They can be hard to motivate and you have to be the one to pick the battles. Sometimes you spend hours researching the internet, the library, planning, shopping for supplies for a project that you are so excited to do, and when you present it to your kids, they complain about it. What a bummer!

Keep reading for more disadvantages of homeschooling...

2. Homeschool Socialization ~ but not for the reasons you might think.

Yes, my kids have more of a social life than they did in school, but that takes WORK on my part. We live in a rural neighborhood with mostly retirees and ONE other family with children (they have boys and I have girls - not that boy/girl friendships are bad, just different.) I have to make an extra effort to build my girls friendships by driving them to a friend's house or inviting friends over to our home. I have to actively seek out opportunities for them to make friends.

Yes, one of the homeschooling benefits we have as homeschoolers is flexibility, but some people take that to mean you have time to do whatever they need you to do when they need you to do it. This might be a grandparent who wants to drop by unannounced and take the kids for ice cream (usually a great idea) then gets their feelings hurt when you are in the middle of a huge science experiment and they can't just up and leave. This might be a church member who calls as says they just realized they needed 12 dozen more cookies for the bake sale that evening. This might be a friend who just calls to chat at 10 am when you are in the middle of a spelling lesson.

Yes, as homeschoolers we have made different choices for our kids, but strangers, friends and family sometimes feel the need to question EVERYTHING - including our kids. Questions I get: Why are you homeschooling? Are your kids smart? Aren't you worried about them missing something? What about college? When are you going to put them back in school? What do you teach them? How do you know everything? Don't they drive you crazy? Blah, blah, blah. Questions for my kids: Don't you miss school? Do you have friends? What is six times eight? Is mom a good teacher? If you choose to homeschool, be ready for the questions because they will come...ad nauseum.

Yes, homeschool kids have alot of extracurricular opportunities, but again, you have to WORK to find them. They can't just sign up for band, or sports teams, drama, or special interest clubs while they are at school. Some districts allow homeschoolers to participate, some don't. Which brings me to my next disadvantage of homeschooling...

3. Homeschooling cost

In addition to the loss of income mentioned earlier, the cost of homeschool curriculum and extra-curricular programs (if they can't play sports, participate in music lessons through band or orchestra, or other activities at the public school) puts an extra burden on your finances. As the teacher, you will put alot of thought and effort into planning and teaching. I know I work harder to teach my kids at home than I did when I was teaching in the public school (the lessons were already planned out in the textbooks at school, and I make alot of my own at home.) It's like a job with no pay. So how much does homeschooling cost anyway?

4. The fear factor ~ one of the hardest disadvantages of homeschooling to overcome.

I don't care how confident you are, doubt will creep into your mind every now and then. Am I doing the right thing? Am I teaching them enough? Are they going to turn out ok? What do I do now? You have to know what to do with these thoughts or it's easy to get discouraged and give up.

As kids get older, people really start to worry. How will I teach high school subjects? What about college/work? It's nice (but not absolutely necessary) to have some group activities for things like discussion of literature, community service projects, science labs (that are expensive.) Again, you are on your own and will have to work to make these things happen.

I just wanted to give you a taste of some of the disadvantages of homeschooling we have struggled with over the years (thankfully, not all at the same time!) so you can make an informed decision and be ready with a plan to turn disadvantages of homeschooling into advantages of homeschooling.

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