Reasons to NOT homeschool...?

I have been thinking lately about all of the responses that I get from strangers who find out that we homeschool our children. Many times when other parents hear that we homeschool, they say to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that, but..." They then proceed with reasons that they would not or could not homeschool. I am going to share with you some of the reasons that I have been told as to why parents say that they cannot homeschool their children. I will then share my feelings on that response. There are such a variety of reasons that I have heard, that I decided to do a series on it instead of one very long posting.

(You can find part one of this series, here.
 You can find part two of this series, here.
 You can find part three of this series, here.)


I get this response about as often as the socialization issue.  It is very surprising and very sad...  "I don't have the patience to be with my kids ALL day!"  It is then that I begin to wonder...what do you do during the summer months?  What do you do to get them ready for school in the morning?  What do you do to get them to do their homework in the afternoon?  What do you do to get them to take a bath and go to bed every night?  If you don't have the patience to be with them and teach them, then how do you have patience to get any of these things done on any given day?  Schooling is not the point if this is the problem...discipline might be.  Besides, children ARE a GIFT from the Lord...He will give you all that you need!

Yes, I ENJOY being with my kids all day!

Along those same lines,I also get this response.  "I would like to homeschool, but I really like my time alone while my kids are at school."  Yes, we all enjoy alone time now and then.  It is good for us.  It is good to get alone with God.  It is good to get alone to think and pray.  Housecleaning is SO much easier when the kids are not "around."  Is this what most parents do with their "alone time" though?  From what I know about our world today, I seriously doubt that most stay-at-home mom's do this in their "alone time."  I get alone time...although it is rare.  I can get up earlier, go to sleep later, and get alone time then.  I also, from time to time, go out alone after the children are in bed and my husband is home...usually to a bookstore!  (It is usually quiet there, and I love books!)  So, I do enjoy having some "me" time now and again...but what I enjoy more is the look on my child's face when he/she learns how to read, how to add, how to spell a difficult word; coming to me in "uncertain" situations; having daily Bible reading and prayer; learning scripture; and so much more that I would not see or be able to do if they were in public school.


Linking up at: