Talking To Your Spouse About Homeschooling Your Children 

Parents may be placed in a situation where homeschooling their children will come to their minds. This type of schooling is not new and unusual to many nowadays. In fact, statistics show this is getting more and more popular among parents, professional or not, wealthy or not.  According to Dona Matthews Ph.D., “More and more parents are choosing to educate their child at home, or to join with other parents who don’t want to send their children to the local schools.”

 

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The decision to homeschool your child, however, should come not just from one parent but both present parents and guardian of the kid. If you think this alternative to traditional schooling will do much better for your child, then it’s time that you, as parents, talk about it. Here’s how: 

 

Talk About Why You Think Homeschool Is The Best  

Of course, the first thing that your partner would ask is why you are considering homeschool, to begin with. It could be that you are not satisfied with the academic requirements and educational flow of the schools around you. It could be for the negative environment of the supposed educational institution (specifically the bullying, theft, and assault).  

 

Don’t lose hope every time your partner shows a face of disagreement over your idea. Be ready to lay all the details. Start with your number one reason and proceed on telling her how you think homeschooling would positively impact your children.  

 

Whatever your reason may be, be it because of the excellent benefits of homeschooling or the ugly side of traditional schooling, be ready to defend it to your partner. Forget about the stigma of schooling. Studies say that Americans slowly turn to homeschool against the traditional public/private which causes the stigma to fade away slowly.  As they say, results may vary, but on average, home-schooled children do very well, including socially, at college, and in community involvement.” This is according to Marty Nemko Ph.D.

 

Discuss Your Partner’s Possible Worries About Homeschooling  

Sure enough, there are these doubts that your partner will raise each time as you go into deliberation. The possible number one con of homeschooling you are going to talk about is the child’s socialization skills. In contrast to the traditional schooling where every child gets to mingle and socialize with peers and other people, in homeschooling, your child will have limited exposure.  

 

You can solve this worry by having a clear plan of signing up for homeschool support groups, field trips, small volunteer work for your soon-to-be-homeschooled child. You can convince your spouse by presenting the alternatives to his/her worries about suddenly shifting your child’s way of schooling.  

 

Consult With A Guidance Counselor Together  

Both you and your partner can always talk to your child’s previous guidance counselor to ask for help in this critical decision. Usually, guidance counselors have already years of training and meeting with this kind of problem. Just think that they are always ready to offer you fresh perspectives and ease your worry about the possible difficulties you will encounter as a beginner in homeschooling.  

 

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Remember that both your aim should be the welfare of your child. A recent survey shows that the number one reason why more parents prefer homeschooling is the danger brought about by the negative school environment.  

 

Professional parents, however, suggest homeschooling is more effective in honing the child’s academic skills compared to the traditional one. Whatever it may be, it is always better that you and your spouse come to one decision for what’s best for your kid.  As what Annabella Hagen, LCSW, RPT-S said, “A child’s ability to overcome daily challenges are best met when parents, educators, and mental health providers are on the same page.”