I quit homeschooling our kids a little over a year ago and I’m so glad I did!
Before I say anything else, I need to tell you that I think homeschooling is wonderful. I know some amazing people who homeschool their children and I think they are incredible. I admire them, especially because I’ve done it too and I know just how much effort and dedication goes into teaching children. So please hear me when I say that I have nothing against homeschooling.
It’s just that homeschooling is not for everyone, a lesson I learned the hard way.
Let me back up.
I was homeschooled myself from through 12th grade and graduated through an accredited correspondence school with a high school diploma. My mom was a saint for teaching me and my siblings all those years. She did an incredible job – we had an amazing education – and I will forever be grateful.
I always just assumed that I’d homeschool my own kids. When Nathan approached kindergarten, I reluctantly began homeschooling him. We worked well together and he learned and thrived.
Here’s the thing: I didn’t homeschool Nathan because I felt like it was the best decision for him. I did it because I felt like I had to.
It wasn’t pressure from my husband; Nate was very supportive. It was pressure I put on myself.
I was raised to believe that public schools were scary places where kids were indoctrinated with “bad” stuff and dumbed down with poor academics.
(I do not think that anymore.)
I didn’t outright believe all that when Nathan was little, but I didn’t think I could send my children there.
I thought it would make me a bad mom if I didn’t homeschool.
Not only that, I put so much pressure on myself to be a perfect teacher that I eventually began to crack.
I began to hate homeschooling. I dreaded ordering books each year and I cried when a new school year began.
It didn’t help that I had virtually no support network. I couldn’t find anyone in our church who homeschooled and the nearest homeschool co-op was 45 minutes away that also required parents to volunteer and teach. That wasn’t going to happen when I was already exhausted and overwhelmed.
Homeschooling was suffocating me slowly. Each year, it was harder and harder.
I felt trapped.
It wasn’t until Nathan was in 3rd grade and I had 3 other small children at home, that I finally woke up and realized I was doing it to myself.
I prayed. I talked with Nate and together, we decided it was time to put Nathan in public school when he entered fourth grade.
It was hard. I cried. I felt so guilty that I might not give Nathan the best education possible by sending him to public school. I felt like I was lazy. That I was putting myself first before my child.
But Nate reminded me that I had to take care of myself before I could take care of my family. At the same time all this was happening, I was struggling with debilitating periods that resulted in a hysterectomy when I was 29 along with severe exhaustion and low energy levels that I later learned was from thyroid and adrenal issues.
So Nathan started fourth grade in public school. Unfortunately, that didn’t last very long because of Nathan’s increasingly disruptive behavior issues. But it wasn’t all bad; this started us on a journey to find answers and help for Nathan. 15 long months later, Nathan was diagnosed with high functioning autism.
I homeschooled Nathan for the rest of 4th and 5th grade as we sought help for him, but it was never more obvious that homeschooling wasn’t working for our family.
I was beyond exhausted with the many doctor appointments and therapy sessions Nathan needed, in addition to still struggling with my own health problems.
I taught Emily for kindergarten and 1st grade, but we are too much alike and didn’t mesh well as student-teacher.
Thankfully, the Lord was merciful and at the end of 5th grade, we had answers for Nathan. Without even planning it, we ended up selling our old house and moving to a new town with a better school district in the summer of 2014.
Last fall 2014, our kids headed off to public school.
Joshua (who I never homeschooled) thrived in kindergarten with a wonderful teacher and continued speech therapy.
Emily also blossomed and went from a reluctant reader to an advanced level by the end of the school year.
And Nathan? He adjusted and did well, albeit not without incident, but still leaps and bounds beyond our first attempt to get him into school. With an IEP plan, the teachers and staff could help with additional support. I am thrilled that Nathan is now learning social skills he desperately needs as support with his autism, in addition to challenging subjects I would have really struggled to teach him at home.
Me? I can’t describe the relief I felt when we sent the kids off last fall. It was a rush of letting go and letting God take over. Of course, I missed my kids, but I knew in my heart it was the right choice. Sending our kids to public school enabled me to better focus on caring for my own health. I’m finally on the path to living healthy and well. And I’m a better mom because I’m not as stressed or exhausted.
I can breathe again.
I’ve learned that public school isn’t scary or “evil.” Our kids’ schools are amazing. The teachers and staff are incredible and our kids are getting excellent educations! Emily is even learning cursive writing and memorizing multiplication facts. I love our schools.
I think homeschooling can be an amazing avenue for many families. I know some homeschooling families now (ironic since I couldn’t find anyone before) and they are active, vibrant, social families who do an amazing job teaching their kids.
But if you are a tired, overwhelmed homeschooler who thinks about quitting, you should know that you are not alone.
Quitting homeschooling may or may not be the right choice for your family, but it’s okay to admit that homeschooling is hard. It’s a huge sacrifice of love and it’s okay to admit you want to stop. If you’ve considered or have made the decision to put your kids into public school, you are not a bad mom.
Sometimes the obvious choice (homeschooling) isn’t always the right one.
Gena says
We homeschooled last year when my oldest was in kindergarten. It felt only natural for me, as I was a kindergarten teacher AND I didn’t want to “let go” of my babies. But this year, he asked to go to public school and he and his bro are both in school and for the most part, they love it. It’s good for them. Homeschooling is a GREAT option and if we need to do it again, I will in a heartbeat. But if public school is working and I can work while they’re in school, then I’m all for it. We are taking it a year at a time. Big hugs to you and kudos for sticking it out so long! homeschooling plus blogging is insane. I know a lot of bloggers do it, but it’s not for everyone and that’s ok!
Erika says
Thanks, Gina!
Joy says
A year at a time, a kid at a time and never forgetting to be grateful to have the choice because I don’t deserve that blessing but have it.
Tickles and Tots says
Hi Erika,
I am so glad someone is talking about this. I have been debating for several years whether or not I will continue with Homeschooling my children. I tell them every year, they have the first 90 days to prove they want to stay in homeschool. My kids have never been to a public school and the district we live in is not the best. We live in a smaller home so that I can stay at home with them and homeschool. Every year, especially this one has been a struggle. My little guy started Kindergarten this year which is an event in and of itself. He is really smart and artistic, but extremely busy and often distracting to the older two.
Most days I am stressed and in need of a break. It is definitely challenging to say the least. They do participate in enrichment classes and have other teachers that they see once a week, but still it is difficult at times. I am still on the fence whether or not to continue or quit altogether. If I didn’t have God and prayer in my life I think I would be admitted somewhere. lol They do so much better with other teachers, church leaders and with other students -everybody except for me. I am a hands-on mom and really try hard to make sure they have resources and curriculum based on their learning style to help them excel, but I get so much resistance and silliness and some days it is just too much.
Still Debating!!! But not for long…
BTW-I have been a longtime reader of yours. Nice site changes! We made apple turnovers last week, but they did not turn out nearly as nice as yours, but they were delicious none the less.
Erika says
Hugs! It is so hard. It sounds like you are doing an amazing job with your kids. I’ll be praying for you!
Thanks for the sweet words. 🙂
Ellen Christian says
I wish I had read this years ago. I homeschooled both kids off and on because they had problems in our public schools. I enjoyed it at first but eventually put them back because we just weren’t a good fit together for teaching/learning. We thankfully found a nice alternative high school that they did well at. For a long time I felt like I was a failure because they weren’t thriving when I homeschooled. It’s good to know I wasn’t the only one.
Erika says
You’re definitely not alone there, Ellen. I think about homeschooling and there are so many other ways we can make ourselves out to be failures. We’re not, but we sure do put that on ourselves sometimes.
I’m glad you found something that worked for your kids and you!
Erika says
That’s an excellent point, Charlene. It’s important for our kids to learn about mistakes.
Sarah Gotheridge says
Whatever works for you Erika! I am really glad that you decided to share this with us as I was planning this with our kids too as they are coming of age and my husband said it won’t be the best of choices considering how chaotic I am.
Erika says
Thanks, Sarah. Good luck!
Jasmin says
I never liked that days of school when i have l always to wake up early and go to school and study some boring subjects not related to the current life , and finally graduated and work in some thing not even related to any of my study
KeKe says
We are homeschooling our 6 yr old daughter (1st grade), and also teaching our 4 yr old son at home. I love certain aspects of homeschooling such as all the time for complex pretend play, reading, snuggling, exercising/playing outdoors, and healthy eating all day long (plus low/no stress for the kids during their formative years). DD6 is involved in tons of activities – gymnastics, dance, music, theater, 2 bi-weekly co-ops, poetry class, and painting class. This amounts to about 15 hours of social time, plus we schedule at least 2 afternoon play dates per week with friends. We follow a strict program for reading, writing, and math. She is light years “ahead” in science (truly she understands more than most adults I have met)! Still, she is lacking for social connections. She has about 4 close friends (all girls her exact age – her choice), but she only sees these kids once per week, or every other week. It’s become apparent that she has tons of acquaintances, and surface friendships (fun playing), but I don’t see how these short encounters will really benefit her in the long-run. She regularly gets made fun of by mainstream kids in our large neighborhood simply for being homeschooled (that’s weird, you must be stupid, quizzing her, etc). I wonder how being ostracized like this will effect her development as she grows up. My son has no friends at all, because everything is centered around my “school age” child. I’m having a very difficult time seeing how we can possibly add more social activities while still having time to complete school-at-home or enjoy family time. All our “free time” is spent grocery shopping, cleaning (or not), or researching curricula. I am spent. Financially, I can only see this getting more expensive the older she gets plus adding the expense of activities for her younger brother. Additionally, my son is completely DONE with tagging along to all his sister’s activities. He needs a consistent schedule, and I’m having a hard time providing that right now. We are going to send them to private school next year, but I am reeling with guilt and feelings of failure. However, I know in my heart that this will be best for everyone. It’s a tough place to be. Wish us luck for the transition- we’re going to need it. Best wishes to everyone who homeschools their children– what a wonderful gift if you can swing it! =)
yan says
homeschooling continues to grow in popularity,but many people still have a negative view of it and it is not uncommon, even for friends and family, to criticize those who choose to homeschool their kids.
KAREN says
As parents, we want to homeschool our kids when they have troubles and can’t follow lessons at school. When my brother was young, my parents often did homeschooling him because he was not good at studying. Nothing wrong when we homeschool our kids to help them better but do not put more pressure on them.
monerath says
For sure, I want to homeschooling my son as he is not good at studying, However all the parents should not put more pressure on them. Thanks for sharing with a nice article to us.
Keurig says
I agree with you. My son also not good at school. We should not put pressure on them, we need to find a creative way to teach them.
Laura says
Whatever works for you Erika! I am really glad that you decided to share this with us as I was planning this with our kids too as they are coming of age and my husband said it won’t be the best of choices considering how chaotic I am.
Renee says
Just finding this article. Thank you for this perspective. I have looked for articles about quitting homeschooling before and they are always articles that “quit homeschooling” and just did it a different way….but STILL were homeschooling. I really appreciate your honest opinion on truly quitting homeschool! It has been something weighing heavily on my mind ever since I started homeschool!
Mary peters says
That takes alot of courage and honesty to quit like u did. I know someone who really needs to quit. I pray for her and keep it to myself. Hope your family is adjusting well.
Maria says
You are the first person, in a long line of online Christian Homeschool Mom’s who spoke like a normal person. I also quit homeschooling. We were actually unschooling, which is super unstructured, child-led learning. It was amazing to see the kids blossom and grow but I as the care-giver was wilting away. I was also suffering with adrenal fatigue and chronic pain throughout my body. It got to the point that I couldn’t take them to any of their social outings. With a great school walking distance away, we decided my health was going to have to come first before their free-learning experience. This is year two. There are definitely bumps along the way and it’s hard to build a community that understands your struggles. Thanks for sharing about yours. It was helpful.
best 3d pen says
WOW ! nice story. we want to homeschool our kids when they have troubles and can’t follow lessons at school. When my brother was young, my parents often did homeschooling him because he was not good at studying.
Hypoithyroidmom says
The struggle is real. I homeschooled my daughter from half of first grade through half of 3rd grade. I had a son who was 3 and he was half way through kindergarten when we put them in. It was terrifying. I cried for a week straight! But I prayed a Lot too! They were mainly unschooled, which was even scarier. Thankfully my daughter made all As and she still is! It has its pros and cons. My health is also in poor condition, I have hypothyroidism. It will probably take me years to get better. On days she. You hear about school shootings, you want to run up to the school and withdraw your babies! But trusting the Lord to protect your babies wherever they are means more than homeschooling out of fear. Some days I want to homeschool so bad, but my kids won’t liste. When I tell them to do chores etc. So I cannot homeschool anymore.
Erika says
Hugs! I understand very well. And yes, ultimately we do have to trust the Lord. He will take care of our babies and us. But there are some days it’s hard. Praying for you!
Michelle Buck says
You are lucky to have figured it out. I feel sometimes like I stunted my teens. My oldest is on the spectrum. We’ve done part time public school but never full time. This year I’ve seen her grow while in public school but she’s only there for 2 classes. I wonder if she would be better if I had stopped with my savior complex. She graduates this year.
My middle child basically defies me at every turn. She’s in part time classes but I’m sending her to public school full time next year where I hope she can graduate in 2 years.
My son is not keen on leaving. He is sad that he has to go to school. I am contemplating sending him to a small Christian school for 7 and 8th grade. I’m worried the jump from homeschool to public school will be too overwhelming. So we’ll see.
My health is deteriorating. One thing I learned in counseling is that I need to let go. Having tried to control the outcome, I am paying the price with my own health. So my plan is to work part time and then have time to get my health back to where I’m feeling healthy again. I’m 40 and feel like I’m 60. I will still have stress but I won’t be responsible for everything. It felt like a huge relief to hand off my daughters transcript. The school set her up with classes to graduate. And if she falls through, I’m not the enemy. My relationships and health have taken a beating. I do sometimes have mom guilt. I imagined I’d always homeschool but… Life changes. And now I can be a support instead of a savior. I’ll leave the saving to God.
7 years in says
Thank you for your words. I’m in the middle of deciding between home and public school and needed to hear that I am not their Savior. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Eileen says
Why not consider private Christian school?
Erika says
Hi Eileen, we have looked into private Christian schools, but it wasn’t affordable with 4 kids. We are actually homeschooling again as of 2020.
Linda says
I am debating and praying now. We didn’t start off homeschooling and now just finishing our 2nd year. I guess I’m worried my kids will be behind because we didn’t teach according to state standards just where they were at. I’m having a lot of health problems and honestly can’t put in the time and dedication it takes to homeschool. I don’t know why it’s so hard to let go but I am leaning towards at least putting my youngest 2 in school or possibly all of them. I know I’m not taking the easy way out but that’s what the enemy whispers in my ear night and day.
Erika says
Hugs, Linda. I went through a similar situation with my daughter. She went into 2nd grade public school after I homeschooled her and she was VERY behind with reading. I felt awful, but the teachers were fantastic, didn’t blame me at all, and she thrived and caught up by end of the year. Now she’s at the top of her class. As you said, the enemy constantly whispers. Keep giving this to the Lord. He will show you. HUGS!
Chelle says
ERIKA, thank you so much for your insight! My children now 10 and 13 boys (I have 2 older 1 graduated and always in a public school & 1 going into his senior yr always at a public school) I’ve homeschooled on & off for 4 yrs. I pulled youngest at start of 1st grade & other in 4th. My youngest has a reading disability and “slow processing” as school called it. 13 yr old loves to learn 7 be social! About a 1 1/2yrs ago I was losing it & myself. We were unhappy & struggling, in particular my relationship with my then 11yr old son. So I enrolled them in a small, basically 2 room schoolhouse, private Christian school. My older son of the 2 I HS’d, did great & loved it however the youngest struggled even more due to the overwhelming curriculum (Abeka) unable to keep up with the older kids in class & more advanced than the younger class group of children. So this past school yr we had moved & we finally enrolled them in a public school. The youngest went from a K reading level to a beginning 2nd grade level and was put into 3rd grade (although was currently in 4th in the Christian school). He did amazing!!!! I am so thankful & learned some lessons also, like avoid the bus at all costs lol, but really not funny & appreciate the Bible devotion & reading time before bed as that time is so precious. The 7th grader however….he struggled with peer pressure and got very sick not long after and by end of 3rd quarter in public school, I was ecstatic to w/drawl & HS again despite his illness 🙁 . I was so scared for him going back. Now my youngest did great in school, I struggle with the thought of failing my children & myself trying to HS again, especially because 1 did amazing & I feel he needs to continue to thrive in public school with amazing teachers, him being recognized for his efforts with awards ect., but I fear letting my 13yr old back in those doors of middle school. We must “let go and let God” & I know this. Children do need to learn how to deal with people & not run from our struggles. Be brave & be in Christ! However we would put our children in an alternative school district if re-entering public. I am at such a cross-road & have the summer deadline now to decide before August! Reading your article “Why I quit Homeschooling” has helped me to leave God in control and strive to choose what is best for OUR family! It is so easy to look at social media & blogs & so forth, & think that all those moms & families look so happy & content…why can’t we pull it together & do that I think? That’s what the enemy wants us to hear & think. Praying & trusting God for what he wills for our family! Thanks again for sharing!
Erika says
Thank you for sharing, Chelle. You sound so much like me! 🙂
I’m so glad my post was able to encourage you.
I have continued to go back and forth with my son too. He went to middle school for 3 years but struggled last year, so this past year we pulled him and he did an online correspondence school for 9th grade. It’s ended up being more of a struggle then we anticipated though so he’s going back to the public high school next fall.
Let go and let God!
Praying for you, sister! 🙂
Em says
Hi Erika, I wonder you still read a comment on this particular article.
I have been homeschooling ( more like unschooling) my older son who is autistic and has several learning disorders and ADHD for the past almost four years and my younger son for two years. At the beginning of each year I make plans to do more learning together but by November I feel stressed out and not happy being with my own children and the rest of the year remains the same. Kids are happy because they can play all day and “learn”. I’m not “teaching” much because I feel lost.
I started searching for alternative schools for my boys last year because I felt my sons would need an ally of grown-ups who would believe in them and guide them through, something I don’t think I did well in the past homeschooling years. I felt tremendous guilt for stopping homeschooling and had a hard time letting of the idea that a “good mom” can homeschool her kids and stay happy at home with them. I felt like a failure big time and another set of tremendous guilt about sending my sons to school because one of the main reasons why is because I really wanted to pursue my career as an artist. I never blamed on my kids for my failure as an artist but it has been really hard mentally to gather my focus and energy to learn and pursue painting at home while we homeschool.
Is it ok to stop homeschooling while your kids have special needs and have been homeschooled for all these years? What would other moms think of my selfish decisions? Am I doing harm my kids by sending them to school? Should I maybe stop complaining and start working harder to achieve both things, homeschooling and my art career because a mom should be able to do both, right? Am I sending my kids to school for wrong reasons? Do I need to try harder maybe? Maybe all o need to do is to change something so we can continue homeschooling??
All sorts of questions keep haunting me!
We did find a good school for each boy and are going to have some visits to see if the school is a good match. My fingers are crossed and I’m learning to let go of the “ideal” mom figure that I always sought after.
I still feel the guilt and obviously I’m still finding some answer and comfort in justifying my decision of stopping homeschooling by looking for articles and blog posts like yours. Believe me, it was hard to find an article that actually talks about quitting homeschooling!! All the other articles I found were about finding solutions when homeschooling isn’t working. It must be a hard thing to admit that homeschooling isn’t working so we quit and it is so not a lot of people openly admit such a decision!?
Anyway, thank you for your honest sharing of your experience here. I feel a bit better about my decision after reading this and comments here too. Thank you!!
Erika says
Hi Em, I do read the comments and thanks for sharing your heart. It sounds like you’ve done an amazing job with your boys and that you’re also making a thoughtful decision about the new school. You’re right – not a lot of people talk about ‘quitting’ and we need more honesty because this is part of life!
So often, we feel like quitting is failure, but it’s not. I’ve had to learn over the years I’ve been a parent (and in my own life in general) that life changes and we often need to change with it. Sometimes that means adapting our approach or doing something differently. Change doesn’t mean failure either.
You’re doing a great job, Em!
Charity says
Erika,
You seriously were the words I needed to read tonight. I knew the moment I got pregnant with my son, that I was going to homeschool. I had been homeschooled my entire learning life, with the exception of a single high school year where I felt I needed to know what the other world was like. Needless to say I went right back home after that freshman year. The first year of homeschool I was elated, overly prepared, geared to make learning kindergarten easy on us both. It went. That’s all, just went. We both had good days and really bad days. My daughter not being able to do much as a toddler, made it please try harder than I planned. First grade, I wasn’t thrilled about, the homeschool local group was starting to require a ton from us and my son was starting to come into his sassmouth age. Prayer just to make it through each day began to come like every other word from my mouth, but we made it through with excellent marks in state testing for the grade. So, this year going in I knew I wasn’t going to be able to manage 2nd grade alone. I enrolled him into an charter from home school. One month in, I was devastated to realize we both hated the regulated pressures from a teacher whom we never saw and rarely spoke to, so back to all me it was. My father passed shortly before this year started and I’ve been trying to cope, but here I am sitting at the very end of this school year. Both my children enrolled in the city school with a request to transfer to the very small, public country school a few miles out side of town. Fear is so much of the devil and I hate how it is one of the strongest tools used against a mother. My heart is not scared for my babies to do this big adventure, it is terrified of me. Of who I am that reachex this point. My daughter is a bright shining light. So much so that she has the nickname firefly since her first year of life. She is already over the moon to meet new friends and learn. My son is hesitant. He has spent 8 years of life, learning mom’s way, and arguing his. He knows there is a huge change coming and while excitement over new friends is present, he fears consequences from his actions. Something that will be good for him in the long run. But, ny heart doesn’t like me right now. I do feel like the biggest failure. I feel like I’ve put my own needs ahead of theirs. Knowing I’m not alone tonight is making the fluttering anxiety a little less noticeable, the ache a little bit duller. Thank you for writing this.
Kelowna says
Good for you for figuring out what was best for you and your home considering this.. I know a family going through the same thing.
Katie says
Hey Lady
Greetings from 2022! I homeschooled for 20 years while moving 15 times in the Military. I am so burned out it’s unbelievable. After dealing with 2 years of fighting cancer, I’m finally calling it quits!! And IM SO HAPPY!! ELATED!! Take it over Jesus!! I literally have no guilt sending my Sweet little boy (#5) to Christian school this year. I did him an incredible disservice by keeping him home while I’m trying to heal. He’s behind in his reading and I’m literally DONE! I can’t do this to my Baby. He needs a good education and God is with him and me every step
Of the time way! If there is a Mamma who needs permission to change their plan and send their children to school (we have some in Public School also and they are thriving)., you have this SAVED BY THE BLOOD Mammas permission. Let Go! Let God and watch those children grow. BTW, our strongest weapon is prayer and you will have more time to pray for your children as they go to school. Go for it!! SCHOOL IS WONDERFUL ❤️
Katie says
Although I think my kids would benefit from goals and activities outside our home, I just can’t get over that a public school might whisper total lies to them… like that there is no God, that gender is fluid and homosexuality is cool, and the biggest goal of the day is to fit in with the cool kids. I want my kids to know God and learn His ways, how can I stand before Him in heaven and say I sent them away to be taught things against His word?
I have been homeschooling for 3 years. It is hard, and we all go a little crazy home all day. But we can’t afford Christian school and I just can’t bring myself to put them in a public school. How can I be surprised if they go astray after growing up in public school? This is what I wrestle with… perhaps I am too harsh (and I don’t mean to judge others, this is the thought I wrestle with myself) I know that ultimately God gave me these kids and He is the one I have to answer to.
Erika says
Hi Katie, I completely get that. We are back to homeschooling our kids now too for the past 3 years. Sending you hugs. The Lord will show each of us what to do. xx
Shannon says
I am struggling right now. Our house that we bought site unseen has been under massive reconstruction for the past 2 years. I don’t have a kitchen, we have no finished bedrooms just drywalled spaces with an area rug on the bare plywood floor and our beds on it. Our laundry room is my pantry and ‘kitchen’ and is 7 feet wide. I have a hot plate cook top, a toaster oven, a sink and a fridge. That’s it. We have one working bathroom on the first floor- our bed areas are on the 3rd floor because our second floor is ripped to studs and only insulated. My husband is so busy with his drywall business he can’t get a free moment to finish our house, and the only professionals that can finish our house to our expectations around here is- US!! I’m an Interior Designer and my hubby is a general contractor and expert carpenter but he specializes in Drywall. So he’s in massive demand and there’s no one who can finish our home. I began homeschooling my little girls (5 and 8 at the time) last year after the Christmas Holidays. My husband and I couldn’t stand the non-Christian rhetoric and anti-God, pro-everything else. We felt like we were feeding our kids to the wolves. But oh my goodness I’ve become an angry homeschooling mom. I get so frustrated, I yell and lose my temper- something that isn’t in my nature!! My girls can’t focus- no medical issues whatsoever. They complain about everything- too hot, too cold, too tired, too itchy too thirsty, too gassy, it’s too loud, the sounds outside, the cat is distracting etc! I have to hold each of their hand and they cannot be in the same room either because they distract each other. I have done everything. I run to one, the other fools around and does nothing. I run back to the other and the one I left fools around and does nothing. So I don’t get very far in terms of book progress. I keep losing my mind. I’m trying to keep up with everything, meals, laundry, this house, my husband’s business (I take care of the books and administration), church commitments, extra curricular activities ( gymnastics, piano, Violin, skating) and oh my gosh I feel like I’m losing it. I too have health issues- anxiety, ptsd, (JW cult and incest survior)bottomed out cortisol, non-insulin pcos, horrific periods and insomnia. So I am on PEA, Magnesium, and Iron as of 2 weeks ago. But I can’t help but feel like I’m ruining my girls. I struggle with the thought of putting them in school, it’s not like the 80’s and 90’s it’s far different. And around these parts, all it takes is ONE WRONG PERSON to turn them to drugs, alcohol and immorality. My girls are active in church, AWANA, and Sunday school, they have Christian freinds and that’s safe for them. But trying to find a happy medium seems impossible. I don’t want to send them back to school, but I don’t want to be THAT mom and I don’t want my girls to hate me, like I’ve been hating myself. I don’t want anyone to take them away because they’re not where they should be grade wise, (my oldest is doing grade 3 math but she’s in grade 4 and not ready for grade 5 🙁 ) Ugh, I just don’t know what to do. Trying to keep this house running and functioning is a full-time job in of itself.
Erika says
Hi Shannon, sending you BIG BIG hugs. Please send me an email – I’d love to encourage you more!
erika (at) livingwellmom.com