Negative Effects of Homeschooling:

Negatives You Need Consider

When it comes to the negative effects of homeschooling, you'll meet plenty of people who can fill you in with horror stories about all the possible bad aspects to homeschool – but are they right?

Top of the negatives list is the socialization question: Will your child be isolated? One glance at the stuff on the supposed social disadvantages of homeschooling and you'll see I'm not taking any prisoners on that one – it's school that’s in the firing line for many of socialization horrors children have to face.

Peer pressure, playground antics – was I the only child who never had a partner when it came to pairing up? That's the thin end of the wedge – bullying and violence are at the other.

The fact is homeschool can offer many opportunities for a much more grounded way of making friends.

So what are the REAL negative effects of homeschooling?

I think there are some aspects of homeschool that you can't escape – maybe not quite negative equity but certainly a bank balance that goes significantly down! We'll look at the cost aspects of homeschool later and you'll see in many cases you can choose how much you spend to make homeschooling affordable. But for most of us, one partner stays at home to look after the children – and that has some big budgetary effects - one less full-time salary.

There are many benefits to homeschooling, but here's the deal:

That's a lifestyle choice that many people make, and it's one I wouldn't swap. The advantages of homeschooling and spending more time with the children are something you can't replace.

But part of the negative aspects of homeschooling are linked to that fact – because you are now totally responsible for your child's education.

In many ways, sending your child to school is a cop out – you can sit back and blame the teachers for anything that goes wrong.

Sometimes, the responsibility homeschool brings can feel overwhelming. We all have our moments!

Especially when you are getting started on homeschooling, you can feel very exposed. I had one child who couldn't read and one child who couldn't write. And that went on for years. If only they could have swapped failings for a few months!

On the other hand, the homeschooling rewards are incomparable – look at all the advantages homeschool brings.

More Negative Aspects of Homeschooling

There is an argument that one of the homeschooling negatives is the fact that the parent(s) may have too much influence over their child's development. After all, if your child went to school they are exposed to lots of different adult influences through their teachers.

But hang on – what sort of influence do they actually receive? The sad thing is that your child's teacher will have hardly any time to speak to them alone on a one-to-one basis – they're too busy managing the class. In fact, if you're looking for negative aspects of being a school teacher, the biggest is the amount of time they have to spend just keeping order so they can get something done.

On the other hand, with homeschool there are still plenty of opportunities to interact with adults in a positive way. A seconds thought tells you that one of the many bonus aspects of homeschool is that there's more time for adult relatives and friends, homeschool parents, outside clubs, classes your child may choose to attend, activity holidays…

I do agree, however, that homeschool parents do need to consider this as one of the potential negative effects of homeschooling and compensate by encouraging growing independence and freedom as their child gets older. But then all parents have to take that on board and some do it better than others!

Finally, what other negative aspects of homeschooling are there? No one said homeschool was easy (though it can be, sometimes – and vastly satisfying).

There are lots of ways to have fun and enjoy yourself but there's no getting away from the fact that you need commitment and dedication to homeschool. But then anything worthwhile requires that too.

When you come to look at the negative effects of homeschooling no one seems to ask: hey, just a minute, what about all the negative aspects of school?

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