Homeschooling parents, do your kids know about drugs?

My kids are far from sheltered. I really don't see how families could shelter there kids completely unless they live on a deserted island somewhere and have NO exposure to people outside the immediate family. I am honest and open about drugs (among other touchy topics) and the effects on the body and over all your life. I actually had a close family member go into rehab her senior year of high school and my oldest sees how that played out in her life, the good, the bad and the ugly.

I do not believe home school in any way "shelters" a kid. I believe they are exposed to to much to soon IN the school system. My daughter wants to learn about sharks, but I do not feel the need to throw her into a shark tank for her to learn.

Blessings

BTW- Thanks for all the refreshingly different questions lately! You and Glee both are on a role.

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My daughter is in cyber school and health class is mandatory for high school. There is a chapter in her health text book about drugs and alcohol, so yes, homeschooling/cyber schooling should and does make kids aware of drugs.

But I totally agree with you, that they dont get the same pier pressure to think drugs and alcohol would be cool, and for that I am grateful.

Also I agree with the other posters, that in today's society, even tho they are more removed from the social scene of high school, they can't help but learn about drugs from tv and music as well as friends. But we are also much more open with our children than our parents' or granparents' generations, so keep the communication going, and we can keep our kids strong!

I'm not a homeschooling parents, but I was homeschooled and yes, I kow about drugs. It would be hard to not know about drugs if you grew up with a TV like most kids do. And most movies (save G-rated) have drug references in them. Have I ever been offered drugs? Nope. But I am pretty sure if I was offered them I could handle the situation just fine. And I never even took a D.A.R.E. class! Go figure.

I believe any parent home schooling or not has a vested interest in equipping their children with knowledge in those area's.

We however may not have a set program to introduce this to our children, nor do we leave it to someone else to teach them about these things.

It comes up in every day conversations, while watching the news, so it is talked about, questions are answered, and because of this the education is often more relevant, and age appropriate.

There are a lot of things that children, depending on their ages need not be informed about until it is time; meaning when they start having questions.

Parents often times do not include all the drama, and hype that "required programs" bring with them, parents can provide factual, accurate information as it pertains to their children, friends, and family.

My husband has an extensive background working with drug and alcohol offenders, he holds a certification in drug, and alcohol counseling, consults on program development, and teaches this as well, so yes, I do believe our children will know the facts about these, and other social issues.

We tell them that unless you make the choice to use any of these illegal substances you will not have any such problems; the key element here being "choice".

We will also teach them beyond the don'ts; like the difference between the legal use of alcohol, and what constitutes responsible, and socially acceptable use versus the dangerous use practiced by so many young people because they were always told what not to do, and then at age 21 had no clue about what it meant to be responsible, or how to act when they were of "legal age".

Remember we can equip them with all the knowledge, and then some, but they are going to make choices, good, and not so good ones, as well as be influenced by many others during their life time.

Home schooling just gives children the change to grow up without undue pressure, and mature before having to deal with all this garbage.

How we love them, set the example as parents, the friends we choose, and how we practice what we preach will ultimately make the difference, not some best practice program, or any other program/commercials designed to "scare them straight".

I am a homeschool parent and I agree with you. They are less likely to get involved in the things that other kids are involved in. However, I do believe that most homeschool parents do talk to their children about the dangers of taking drugs. I have.

Dee

We talk to the kids about drugs, alcohol, drunk driving, and sex issues as they get older.

My kids have friends, some of whom are homeschooled some who are not... they need to know what to be aware of when they're not home with us. This is especially true once they hit the ages of 12 and 13 and they're sleeping over other kids houses, or going out with other teens or volunteering and making friends I might not know as well.

So far, it hasn't been a problem in our home.

Yes, all of my kids do, except the two year old ;-)

They not only see friends who talk about it, it's all over the media, news, in TV shows. As someone mentioned, how could they not know? The wonderful thing about homeschooling is that we have built a relationship in which they know me, and trust me, and can honestly ask any question. I know my children well enough to not react with fear or condemnation, but with support, and open and honest interactions. They are encouraged to do their own research about the safety of different drugs, as well as over-the-counter medications, not blindly accepting the FDA's say-so on any drug.

My kids know all about drugs and what they do to you. My son went through a DARE program then both my kids went through a DEFY (Drug Education for Youth) program that the Navy offers. They took them camping for a week in the summer then did a once a month day with the kids doing fun things while teaching them about drugs and how they ruin your life.

I agree that it all depends on the parents. Some parents don't realize they need to teach their children about these things.

Well I've done homeschool and been to public school and I have a lot of friends from both. My friends from homeschool know about drugs. I don't know if their knowledge comes from parents or the outside world but they definitely know.

I am assuming that your question is meant to try to get rid of the stereotype that all homeschooled kids are "sheltered". However, you are using a stereotype about public school kids. Most kids in public school don't think drugs are "cool". The only kids who think drugs are "cool" are the losers that do them. The kids who don't do drugs aren't the "outcasts".

And for everyone who says they don't "shelter" their homeschooled kids, they just protect them from constant peer pressure and learning about negative things (sex, drugs, alcohol) until they're older. Look up the definition of shelter. I doesn't mean anything bad. It doesn't mean homeschooled kids have no social life. It means to protect. Which is exactly what many homeschooled parents are trying to do.

***I didn't say that you said all public school kids do drugs. I'm just saying that public school isn't an atmosphere where drugs are "cool". (At least not the public schools around where I live.) That's a stereotype.