I recently ran across a message board where a parent was considering sending her children back to public school. She wanted to know from former homeschoolers why have stopped homeschooling. I guess she was looking for a good excuse.
Frankly, I feel that if you want to stop homeschooling, then you should… No excuses necessary. No one should feel forced to homeschool their kids if it is not their desire. Such forced homeschooling would create an unhealthy environment for both the parent and the child. With that said, here are some of the reasons that former homeschoolers have stopped homeschooling:
One mother felt she was not good at offering the structure her child needed. She also felt that she had reached a point where she felt the school could offer him more than she could in areas of advanced math, and competition. (I have had these worries too but found that outside classes fills this need for us.)
Another mother sent her last child to public school as all of his older siblings had left home. She did not want him to be lonely for the next 8 years. After homeschooling several children through adulthood, it is my guess that the mom also needed a change. (Should you have an only child, or lonely child homeschooling, you might want to first consider homeschool co-ops)
Other moms planned to homeschool only to a certain point and then stop. In one mom’s case, it was for kindergarten and first grade. (Unless the mom can take steps to ensure that the kids do not have separation anxiety and go to school reading well, I advise against this. These are the examples teachers use to say that homeschooling is a failure.)
Right opportunities at the right time prompted other homeschoolers to end their journey. Being accepted to specialty schools is often cited at being a great reason to end homeschooling. (It very well may be.)
The most popular reason for sending children back to public or private school was the need to work full time. Financial need has been the impetus for many homeschoolers to call it quits. Even I have wondered how much money I could be making if my kids were in school. For us, looking at the budget and hidden costs of public schools made me realize that I would really not be that far ahead. (Of course, this decision is personal and will vary for different families)
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start here!