homeschooled kids are weird - Page 5

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

I think what you're describing is what some people are talking about when they say that homeschooled children are weird.

Kids who know how to have an intelligent and respectful conversation with adults?! Oh the horror! Kids who want to spend time reading books and discussing the latest article about teleportation of energy in Popular Science magazine instead of spending all of their free time playing video games?! Ridiculous! Weird! (And obviously you're going to find many homeschooled kids who prefer to spend hours playing video games, I'm just throwing out an example.)

It's very weird that when my son was 5yo he could go up to the deli counter, place his order, wait for it, and when he was done--go ask for it to be wrapped to take home... all without my instruction.

Yes, it's weird that my 6yo doesn't really know who Spiderman is and has never touched a Wii. Is this a PROBLEM? Seriously?

I think the OP's dh's definition of "weird" is "not like everyone else" but he's not considering whether "like everyone else" is actually a good thing.

And FWIW, I have met wickedly rude hs'd kids. Like, blatantly--right in front of me and their parents--who did nothing. Definitely not the NORM, but they're totally out there. So people who would accuse me of sheltering my kids are out of their minds. I also taught high school. MUCH greater percentage of that mindset there (and I taught in a relatively affluent suburb).

Originally Posted by peachsara

My mother used this argument with me over the weekend. Apparently, my brother knows someone who was homeschooled, is 22, still lives at home and his parents like it that way. GASP! NO WAY!

My BIL (and dh for that matter) was public schooled to 1st grade then Catholic schooled the rest (including a very exclusive all-boys high school) and lived at home until he was 30yo despite being fully employed. This included mommy doing his laundry and making his lunches while he "lived the life". He is now 35 or 36, just got married and the ILs just finished their basement so that he & his new wife could live down there and save money (despite having literally 6 figures in savings ).

Dh lived at home until he moved in with me (at age 26yo). My MIL almost never does my laundry. I say "almost" because on the rare occasion she's in my home she needs something to do and I let her wash towels.


"Dumbing Us Down" is an awesome (and SHORT) book. I got my husband to read it by reading short passages out loud that just astounded me.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by peachsara

I really hope you understand that I don't think that is weird at all. I just found it ridiculous that my mother cited this as an example of homeschooled "weirdness" and was amazed at how hypocritical her statement was.

Oh, I know. I'm just always stunned by this idea that homeschooled kids are all weird, or that weird kids don't exist in public school, or whatever. I mean, really - about half of all middle school/high school story lines on tv and in movies seem to boil down to some "weird" kid being targetted by the school bully...at least they did when I was younger. It's not like the idea of weird kids in public school is new and astonishing.

[philomom]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

Plenty of homeschoolers do. It's VERY annoying.

Thanks.. I knew that was not my imagination.


Back to the weirdness thing....

I liked someone's argument that it is a chicken and egg thing. Homeschooling attracts parents who already think outside the box. Or parents who suspect their kids might do poorly in a public setting for various reasons. Sometimes this leads them to not even try the local brick and mortar school even if it has a good reputation.

The year I homeschooled I lived in Decatur , Ga. There is a large group there that meets at the local park every Thursday morning rain or shine. I went every week to socialize my child that I was homeschooling. During that year I met many "characters".

[happy1nluv]

lovin the discussion - just havent had hands to type...

This is really disrespectful. Is he controlling in general or just about this issue?

It's just this issue... usually he just goes along with whatever I've researched... his "research" tends to be asking around to all his mainstream friends...

I think he's thinking of them being ostracised on the playground as the weird kids... but its not like they're going to scream "I'm homeschooled" on the playground, yanno? This is the first decision we'd make that would shout that we're not mainstream though... bf'ing, non-vaxing, good nutrition, etc. are not all things that shout out at you, but school is the one thing that EVERYONE asks about and talks about...

[lotusdebi]

I like weird. Normal is boring. My husband and I are both weird, and neither of us were ever homeschooled. We're raising weird kids. It's nature, it's nurture, and it's awesome! I wouldn't know what to do with a kid who wasn't weird. "Weird" is a compliment in my house.

[Proudmom2Teeg]

My husband is dead set on not letting me homeschool our son. He says the same thing about homeschooling kids being weird and not socialized properly. We have a family member who is truly weird and homeschooled so I dont think I will ever be able to change his mind... I am dreading sending my son to kindergarten and he is only nine months.

[mykdsmomy]

Originally Posted by MJB

It has been our experience in HS groups that *many* homeschooled kids are very anti-social/shy, and overly attached to their parents. But *my* homeschooled kid isn't like that at all.

I have to take issue with this statement. With all due respect (and I do truly mean that as I'm not trying to single you out at all), I don't understand what "overly attached" means? How do you measure if a child is overly attached and is that even possible?
I have known many children who have been very shy and stuck next to their parents in social settings. I don't think it's synonymous with homeschooling.
I know the type of child you are describing because I have one but it isn't that he's overly attached, he just has HIGH anxiety. He tends to stick close to me because he doesn't trust anyone. Now we have had professionals say, he needs to confront it and the best way to do that would be to force him into school but I disagree (and that's a whole other thread.. ) But my point is that I don't think children who are considered overly attached to their parents will still be living at home when they are fifty because they need to be close to their parents.