You've made the decision to home school your children. You've researched and prepared and are excited. Then you tell your family. There are many families out there who do not share in your enthusiasm and many homeschooler's find themselves related to them!
Having a positive support network around you is definitely important when you are homeschooling. Sure, you can get that support through friends, co-ops and the aptly named support groups, but it is our family that we tend to look to first. So what do you do when your parents, in-laws or siblings are not on board with your decision?
For starters, you need to remember why you are doing this. What led you to the decision to home school in the first place. These are your children and yours alone. Grandparents have the right to not agree with your decisions but unless what you are doing is harmful to your child, do not cave in to the pressure to please. The reason that most people are against home schooling is because they are not familiar with it, they haven't done the research and probably the only publicity they've heard about it is bad publicity. Remember the case of Andrea Yates? Well, most people remember that she home schooled her children and not the fact that she had a history of depression and other mental issues. Media coverage like that would scare anyone off the idea of home schooling if it were proved to make you insane!
Keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your unsupportive family members. You will find yourself being under constant cross-examination on what you are doing and when you are going to just stop it and put your children back in "real" school, but do not close yourself off. Sometimes the best way to justify or prove why you are doing something is to keep on doing it and doing it well. Show your in-laws your children's school work. Tell them about interesting field trips that you have gone on with friends. As time goes on, what most unsupportive people see is the difference between your children and perhaps their public school counterparts.
Remember that the decision to home school is a personal one. You and your spouse, as the parents, came to decision together and you should continue to stand together as a united front against those that are against it. Don't let others opinions come between the two of you and what you have decided for your family. No one knows your child like you do and you should have confidence in yourself to keep moving forward in your home school journey. In the end, your perseverance and actions have the possibility of winning the opposition over to your side.
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