Socialisation

Many people I come across express their concern that home educated children are too "cosseted" or unable to enjoy and benefit from interaction with other children and adults. There is a feeling in the wider non-home-community that we (home ed families) keep our children too close and too protected.

In my experience, home educated children do interact with other children and adults. This past week .   . . .on Monday Jeremy took Jemima and under to a home school football group - normally Rupert does this, and is the coach, but he was busy. Then Jeremy and Max came home, while the others stayed at a home schooled friend's house for a French lesson (the friend has children aged 12 down to less than a year, and they are native French/German speakers). (I didn't go with them)

On Tuesday Jemima and Annabelle were at gymnastics for two hours (I didn't go with them); on Wednesday the three youngest were at a library "craft and storytime" session, and later that day another four were at the library for an older children's reading group. The reading group is comprised of about a dozen school children from various schools, and my four (and again I didn't go with them)

I mention that last point to show that my children mix regularly without me - they have access to other children in the community and also to other adults, without my immediate oversight. One of the "safeguarding" complaints that is often made of home education is that children are so heavily "controlled" by their parents that they have no access to other significant adults, so that if they did have problems at home (which they are no more likely to than any child - in fact I'd argue less so), they would have no one to confide in.

Wednesday evening a handful of them went swimming with Julian, and met home schooled friends at the leisure centre; Thursday was swimming lessons (since it is younger children who go, they are accompanied but again, they know their swimming teachers well, and they mix with a variety of children). And on Thursday Sebastian went with Constance to visit J's Aunt who is seriously ill in hospital. While Lucy spent the night at a friend's farm, with three other girls from Christian homes.

And several of the children aged 10 and up regularly go out to buy groceries which  I've forgotten (we live very near a supermarket); they go to the post office to send mail; they interact a lot with people in the local community; and they are in and out of the local library constantly, and know several of the staff there very well.