As your child starts developing through their teenage years, a sense of insecurity may arise concerning their homeschooling. At this stage a lot of parents will be tempted to ‘throw in the towel', and submit their child to the public school system. This is a completely natural feeling, and there is no need to panic. It is a situation which needs thorough assessment and is completely dependent on the effectiveness of your homeschooling technique.



If you have social concerns for your child, it may be time to start looking for interest-oriented associations, clubs and organisations. These offer a lot of support for leaders, opportunity for shared experience, and foster a sense of belonging for homeschooled children. Another idea would be to form your own social group where you co-ordinate activities with other homeschooling parents and their children. Home education support groups provide fantastic opportunities to meet your child's needs and take their homeschooling to higher levels. This is the best way to develop intelligent, self-motivated, healthy and able young people who are actively pursuing their interests. This will result in a well balanced teenager who will be better able to cope with peer pressures and temptations.

If you find that your depth of knowledge in advanced fields such as Maths and Science is lacking, it may be well worth considering enlisting the services of a private tutor to compliment the education you are providing for your child. This should not be seen as a failure on your behalf, public schooled children often seek outside help to succeed in areas they find challenging. Likewise you could also trade your homeschooling services for the services of the tutor to save some money. With homeschooling becoming more and more popular, support groups will have innumerable resources that help you find the right teacher for your child, and the internet is the obvious place to start.

The underlying principle that guides homeschooling online is this: any child has the innate capacity to grow, develop and achieve its full potential. All it needs is the right environment and all the right answers to help achieve this potential. All you can do is be there to provide all the answers and support- even if that comes from outside sources. This will provide a far greater benefit for your teenager, rather than just turning them over to the public school system.