Many people worry that homeschooled kids will miss out on certain things. The big worry of course is lack of socialization, and while that isn’t actually as much of a concern as some people believe, here are ten things that homeschooled kids really will be “deprived” of during their school years.

Long Bus Rides

Because homeschooled kids are already at their place of school, they don’t have the long bus rides experienced by many public school children. Sometimes an hour long each way, such bus rides are a huge chunk of wasted time that homeschooled kids do not have to endure.

Peer Pressure

Since public-schooled children are surrounded everyday by their peers for hours at a time, they can sometimes find it difficult to stand up for themselves and be an individual in the face of peer pressure. Homeschooled kids have less peer-pressure due to generally being in a supportive, home environment without all the pressure to be cool and “fit in” that public school kids receive.

Sedentary Lifestyle

Homeschooled kids also “miss out” on sitting for long periods of time. While public school children are generally rewarded for being the model student who “behaves” and sits still in the classroom for hours at a time, research shows that sitting for long periods of time is one of the worst things a person can do for their health. It also more quickly decreases a child’s flexibility.

Homeschooled children often move from place to place while doing their school work instead of sitting at one desk all day. A homeschooled child may lay on the floor on their stomach while doing math, sit at a desk while studying science, then lean back against a couch while reading, all in the same day. Homeschooled kids are often able to take multiple breaks to run around outside in between study sessions as well. This often results in them being healthier and more flexible than their public schooled peers.

School Cafeteria Lunches

Homeschooled kids don’t have to deal with school cafeteria lunches. Anyone who remembers lunch options from the school cafeteria probably wishes they’d had the opportunity to miss out on those. I can remember my first grade school teacher worried that I had an eating disorder because she saw me throwing out a plate of some inedible substance that the school cafeteria was trying to pass off as mac and cheese.

Soon after I began bringing lunch from home, since I couldn’t choke down the stuff offered at the cafeteria. While cafeteria food has gotten better over the last decade with rising standards, most people’s mothers can still make better food with their eyes closed than what a school cafeteria offers.

Low Self-esteem

Homeschooled kids are often “deprived” of the low self-esteem experienced by many public school children. This may be due to the decreased peer-pressure. By not worrying about whether or not they “fit in,” they don’t have their self-esteem crushed day after day. And their self-esteem does have to be based on something as shallow as having “the right pair of shoes.” Studies on homeschoolers have shown that they generally have higher levels of self-esteem earlier on than their public school peers.

Missed Holidays

Homeschooled kids often don’t experience the missed holidays that public school kids have to contend with. For example, while most public schools give kids the week off after Christmas, homeschooling parents have the opportunity to set their own schedule. They might give their kids a week off before Christmas to enjoy the pre-holiday festivities. (Let’s face it, making Christmas cookies is a lot more fun before Christmas than afterward).

The Germ Pool

Homeschooled kids miss out on the “germ pool,” as we always called public school. It’s not that homeschooled kids don’t get sick, because they do, but not nearly as often as public school children. Public school children are surrounded for hours everyday by hundreds of other children, all carrying and sharing germs. They are therefore more likely to catch multiple colds, or even more serious things that are going around. When I started homeschooling, I rarely had more than one cold a year simply because I wasn’t exposed to the germs of several hundred other kids every single day.

Bullying

Not that homeschooled kids can’t be bullied, but there’s less opportunity for them to be bullied when they’re homeschooled. They’re also often less affected when someone tries to bully them. Once again, the lack of peer-pressure and the fact that homeschooled kids often have higher self-esteem allow them to just walk away using the old adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Lack of Fresh Air

Homeschooled kids often don’t experience the hours upon hours of breathing the same stale air as everyone else everyday (probably another factor as to why they don’t get sick as often). Because homeschooled kids are often encouraged to be outside as part of their “gym” and science lessons, as well just intermissions between studies, they have a higher frequency of fresh air exposure, leaving them healthier all the way around.

School Shootings

This is probably the greatest thing a person could be deprived of. Homeschooled kids don’t have to worry about being the victims of the school shootings that are sadly becoming much too common these days. Homeschooled kids don’t have the daily stress of that worry hovering over their learning because they are safely at home away from that danger. They won’t have to wonder which of their classmates might snap that day and they don’t have to walk through metal detectors to get to their place of learning. Hmm, maybe being “deprived” of some things isn’t so bad.

There are of course exceptions to the things listed above, but in general, I have found homeschooling to be a very healthy experience. I chose to homeschool after forth grade and anything I was “deprived” of by being a homeschooled child was probably a good thing to be deprived of.

As far as the socialization thing that everyone worries about, for the most part homeschooled kids are not kept in a tiny little box sheltered from the outside world. (Yes, there are some, but for the most part, homeschoolers pretty regular families). There are groups for homeschooled kids to socialize with each other. They can join music, martial arts, and sports programs. They can go on field trips and interact with other people (of all ages, not just their own age group).

You Were Homeschooled?

I’m a vendor and several of the local farm markets and most people are surprised to learn that I was homeschooled because I can strike up a good conversation with them. When I ask how many other homeschoolers they know, the answer is usually none. So they’re basing their opinion of homeschoolers solely on stereotypes they’ve heard about. Homeschooled kids aren’t nearly as “deprived” as many people believe.

By Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf

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