Is Homeschooling For Your Family? How to Make This Life-Changing Decision

Should your family homeschool or should you send your child to a school? This question has crossed the minds of many parents in the past few years. So I am here to share with you my thoughts on whether it’s best to home educate or to send the child to school.

Together with my husband, we agreed to homeschool our children long before we welcomed our first child. We always considered it to be the best option for our family.

Whilst on our homeschool journey, I met many parents who faced this dilemma and struggled with conflicting emotions. It seemed to me that they anticipated that in the course of our conversations I would try to persuade them toward homeschooling. It has never been the case.

My answer always was and is – your child’s well-being is the most crucial and core aspect of this decision. To homeschool, one needs to be passionate about their choice and be able to recite every reason for homeschooling in their sleep. Because once you set the goal in your mind, the options and opportunities to have a successful and amazing experience homeschooling are ample. The sky is your limit. But if the conviction is not there, homeschooling has the potential to turn into misery for all from the very start.

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The same goes for schooling. If you feel strongly that you would truly struggle with this responsibility (trust me I do at times) or that homeschooling would not suit your family for any reason, then schooling is most likely the best option.

But when examining both scenarios, what you need to consider is the child’s well-being. I am strongly convinced that it plays the most crucial role in this process of decision-making.

If at any stage you feel that your child is genuinely struggling and he or she is not their happy self, here is your red flag you can’t ignore.

I am not implying here that when you see your child struggle you have to change the course altogether. I mean that when the child begins to withdraw, does not feel secure, and brings up issues that are way beyond his or her control, this is the time to fight for your child’s well-being by every means possible.

Dig up every resource, seek help from every specialist you can, look for support, take the child’s words and concerns seriously, and don’t become complacent. Fight for your child until this concern has been dealt with.

As a parent, you need to trust your intuition even in situations when teachers see you as a nuisance. Or in a homeschool situation, it might mean that you need to get out of your comfort zone and start meeting new people if you feel that your child feels isolated, for instance.

Yes. Challenges in general are a part of life. They push us to grow, they build us and strengthen our character. Children need to learn to face their own battles.

Hence parents are to be aware of age-appropriate challenges – emotional, physical, social, mental, and spiritual. We need to take notes of the child’s strengths and define areas where they need extensive support.

My children are intensely strong-willed. Yet I don’t let them do only what makes them happy every day all day. I know it’s not going to form the habits that would help them thrive in the future. I combine routine together with their interests and show them the value and benefits of hard work.

As a parent, you have the ability to sense when the situation is beyond your control or fixing and requires drastic measures because the child’s whole well-being is at stake. This is the time to make a change.

My advice is to be an aware and involved parent 100% of the time. Set a list of priorities that you would never be able to compromise no matter what.

I hope I gave you some food for thought. You are your child’s guardian angel who has your child’s best interest at heart and the person he or she will always look up to and trust the most. Not even the most amazing teacher is capable of taking your place when it comes to taking care of your child’s needs.

With that understanding, we accept the responsibility to know what is beneficial and what produces positive outcomes when it comes to the child’s well-being and welfare.