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[quote=Anonymous]Most homeschooled families I have met make very significant efforts to ensure their kids are spending time with both kids their own age as well as adults. I was forced to homeschool our 16 year old daughter very recently, and our efforts to socialize our daughter (16) with adults involves her picking up a part time job at the mall, where she has to interact all day with adults of every age all day long, her boss, her manager, etc.  She also interns one full day per week at a nonprofit that works on helping on the issue of land mines in 3rd world countries.   Aside from that, she actually does participate in the real world day to day, know what I mean? its not like she never leaves our house. :)

As for finding kids her own age to socialize with, that is our current biggest struggle.  She has a boyfriend, and a couple of friends from her rec sports team.  She also spends one day per week with our youth group at church.  But that aspect has been very difficult. She is a VERY social kid, and she is sad about this aspect of her life.

I would love for her to be able to play on the sports team at our high school.  We just recently pulled her 2 weeks ago from public school, but since September she has been practicing (off season practice) with the school team, participating in team fundraisers, and hanging out with the girls from the team. Once we pulled her from public school, she was banned from playing.  Such a shame.  I do understand people's reluctance to allow homeschooled kids to play on school sports teams, (like I get the logic), but due to our daughter's illness, she was forced to leave high school. Seems such a shame to "punish" her again by banning her from the team.  She is crushed about that.

We are desperately trying to find other ways for her to find kids her age to hang out with. But along with "forcing" the issue (like finding formal groups for her to hang out with), there is also a natural way she meets kids. She's only had her part time job at the mall for a week, and already she has met other kids her age through work, (the place she works as well as other stores around her).   Im hoping this natural way of meeting kids continues while we try to also get her interacting with kids her age more formally.

I am concerned about her not having a big circle of friends right now, but I am working on it with her and it's just part of the deal that came with having to pull her from school.

If you really DO have a huge problem with kids who are homeschooled, I am sure many families like mine would appreciate your support at school board meetings and other city meetings that address public school issues.  The school system fails miserably at trying to accommodate kids who have illnesses and are in and out of the hospital.  With technology today-(heavens we can walk on the MOON people....we all webex all our meeetings at work with people all over the country...how many of us celebrate kids birthdays and have grandma and grandpa on Skype watching our kid blow out the candles??)--there is not a reason on earth that kids who are lying in a hospital bed cannot virtually "see" what is happening in their classroom, listen to lectures, and keep up with their schoolwork while in the hospital-and if they are too sick to participate live, they should be able to watch a recording.  it's not expensive technology, it just requires that the school system think outside the box a little bit.

So if you really do think widely in terms of what our society "needs", and you really are concerned about youth as a whole and this is your viewpoint, I would suggest that you learn just a little bit about what families of sick kids are dealing with at school. Maybe there is something you can do to lend your support, so that we all aren't forced out of public school (which is the main path for chronically ill students right now).

This is only MY viewpoint ,I am sure there are tons and tons of very valid reasons people homeschool. But I can't tell you how much it hurts when people "take issue" with homeschooling and haven't been in our shoes, and have been blessed with healthy kids who are able to go to school.

Just asking for a little open mindedness and understanding.  Maybe you don't  know everything, you know?  Maybe your viewpoint would change if you widened your understanding?[/quote]

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