We Choose to Shelter.

I homeschool because I have seen the village and I do not want it raising my child.

We recently ditched cable. Mostly it was an economic choice, but we had also grown tired of the filth that it presented to our children in the form of cartoons and "educational TV". I've been told that homeschooled children are less mature when compared to public school children because of how sheltered they are. I observed. They are right. Well, at least in a way they are.

You see, my daughters only knowledge of current fashion trends are what they hear and see on their friends. They still prefer pretty little girl dresses. The only Taylor Swift they have ever heard has come from friends, or music playing in the mall. They are still terrified of most movies with a PG rating and even some with a G. They know that boys and girls get married but they have no idea what a boyfriend or going "out" with someone is. They have no concept of illegal drugs or real life violence. Your child must now have a knowledge of all things secular and sinful to be considered mature.

You may say that, yeah that's because your oldest is 7. Well, 10 years ago I would have agreed, but over the last few years I have seen kids as young as 2 exposed to graphic and violent TV and video games, sexual content not only on TV but at school(sex ed and handing out condoms to elementary students?!) and in peer groups, parents are ohhhing and awwing over their 8 year old having their first boyfriend. They are exposed to drugs and alcohol. We (again as a whole) purchase these things for our children, we allow them to be exposed to it in the name of "experience", we spout things like "If you keep them sheltered they will rebel" or "a little rebellion won't hurt, how else will they learn?". Would someone please, point out the Biblical reference for this? And further more, all you have to do is a little google search to find out that teen pregnancy, violence, drug use, and so on have been on the rise for years. Letting our children be exposed to these things has not resulted in Godlier, spiritually sound children!

Can you send your child to a private school and still protect them? Well, sort of. I went to a private school and I will say that yes, for the most part my parents did a fine job of protecting me from the world. I still don't know what weed looks like, didn't have a single drop of alcohol until I was of legal age(and even then it wasn't really my "thing"), and even though I do think that my "casual" dating in high school did rob me of a bit of my heart, it was at the very least very limited. However, I still have to honestly say that I did not come out completely unscathed. As far as public school, thank the Lord my parents had the good sense to refuse my pleas to attend.

So what about public school? The truth is that you simply can not send your child into an environment that is full of sex, violence, anti-Christian sentiment and a general hatred of all things Biblical and expect them to come out whole. Our children are molded by what they see around them and no matter what they get the few hours they are at home or at church, it can not compare with the hours upon hours of influence they get at school. Not to mention that most of us can not be entirely sure of our children's spiritual status at younger ages which makes the environment even more dangerous as they have no spiritual conscience!

I guess the question you probably want me to answer now is, do I think that homeschooling is the only way? I wouldn't be as presumptuous as to say yes to that. I do think there are some circumstances in which it is impossible (though for the most part I think they are self-inflicted circumstances), but what I do know is that we are called by God to raise our children , to train them and to bring them up in Christ, and I do think that is all but impossible when the majority of their training comes from a source other than you.

Bible verses that support the parental raising, training and educating of our children

Will I expose my children to these things one day so they aren't "shocked into rebellion" by them? Yes, but I will do so in a controlled environment in which I can Biblically answer questions. We have recently begun dealing with the fact that not everyone believes in God. My daughter has been able to ask questions and we are able to discuss it in a way that solidifies her faith while exposing her to how to be in the world but not of it. As she grows and matures the doors will open for deeper conversations.

We chose to shelter.

Disclaimer: I speak in general terms on this blog. I do not believe anyone should be forced to homeschool. I believe in choice. I just happen to think that Christian parents should choose to homeschool.