I think the question I'm asked most often from non-homeschoolers has to be "where do they learn social skills?"  When we first began schooling at home I was very intimidated by this question as I didn't have any "proof" that my kids weren't going to be anti-social little hermits.  But we are about to begin our fourth year and I've gotten much better at fielding that question.  I even ask a few of my own.  What social skills are everyone talking about?  What are the social skills kids supposedly learn while away at school for hours at a time?  What social skills does a child learn by interacting with only their peers? If their peers are children, just like them who also need "socialization", where are they learning these "social skills" everyone is so concerned about?  Are the teachers playing with them on the playground?  Or is socialization really something deeper and more sinister?  Is it really about "controlling" children and forcing them to "conform" to what everyone else is doing?  If you don't "conform" are you then a "social outcast"?

Long gone are the days when the average homeschooler spent next to no time with other kids their age.  Today we have churches and support groups and play-dates and co-ops and sports that get these kids together on a regular basis.  Kids do need to know how to behave around others but isn't that what every parent should be teaching at home?  It seems to me that some parents today put too much of the responsibility of teaching manners and communication onto teachers and their kids' peers.  Children should know how to communicate with all age groups, not just their own.

I have noticed that more and more kids in public schools are being diagnosed with social anxiety disorder.  Perhaps the little "societies" we've created for them in public school settings are beginning to crumble from so much "social" emphasis and maybe even from being exposed to things at an immature age that they aren't ready for socially, developmentally or emotionally.  So no, I don't believe my kids are lacking in social skills.  They may be a bit more naive than the average kid their age but I think that just reflects that most kids today know far more than they should about things they can't possibly understand or process accurately.