Unschooling: Parent Benefits!
Unschooling Offers Parent Benefits too!
Podcast Transcript
Last August, I did a podcast about the Pros and Cons of unschooling.
Someone mentioned that I
omitted all the Positives that come for Unschooling Parents when they make this choice.
So that’s what I want to talk to you about today.
We hear people sigh and say,
“Oh I could never do unschool!”
or
“How do you have time to get anything done when you choose this way to parent and educate.”
And yes, it’s immersive. And yes, you miss out on the free babysitting that comes when you send your kids off to school for the better part of the day.
But you learn how to live your life WITH these kids you’ve brought into the world.
I get it, most people have not had anyone show them how to live with kids in a way that prioritizes the relationship and the connection over just about everything else. Unschoolers know that the learning happens right alongside this full rich life we get to have with the kids.
So let’s talk today about the BENEFITS you’re going to see as the parent in a household that is unschooling.
Have We Met?
I’m Sue Patterson and this is the Unschooling Mom2Mom podcast.
Back in the 90s, I decided that I could do AT LEAST as well as school was doing. So I brought my kids home to learn. We tested the waters in a variety of ways, and discovered that unschooling was the path we wanted to take.
Sure, I had doubts. I had a lot of fears to undo.
But now the kids are 36, 34, and 31 - and they were totally prepared for adult life. I mean, as well as any of us are! But they got jobs, own homes, have families - all the typical things. Doors didn’t close for them because they unschooled - in fact, so many more doors OPENED.
I share a lot of the specifics including HOW you can create this kind of life in your family - through my Membership group, an Unschooling Course, and different Guides that tackle specific obstacles you may be facing. I’ll share the links here - because you HAVE the resources to do this. You just have to take that next step and tap into them!
10 Parent Benefits if You Unschool
SO....let’s talk about those Benefits for the Parents if you opt for unschooling. Ready?
1
Unschooling parents have more time. They control the pace of the day. Get up early? Sleep in? It’s whatever works for your family on THAT day. No more frantic rush to get out the door on time regardless of how anyone feels. This slower pace can give you so much more time to connect and actually live the life you WANT to live.
2
Unschooling parents have more adventures. I’m not gonna lie, unschooling is fun for parents too. We learn to ENJOY our time with our families instead of most of our time together being about complying with school requests. We get to take trips during offseason and explore the world together.
3
The Calendar is YOURS. Having schedules that fit your lives - no prioritizing what the school wants to accomplish or working around their system’s requirements. Your calendar is full of what YOU and the Kids want to do. Having the freedom to control your own calendar can enable you to move around during non-peak time for better rates, shorter lines, less crowds.
4
Unschooling parents have more information about their kids. They’re around the kids more so it’s easier to notice more. And these observations help us know what our kids need. Tuning into your kids throughout the day allows you to have more opportunities to understand what's going on with your child and how you can help them - as opposed to only having time with them when they're worn out after a long day at school. Or as you’re rushing around all weekend to make sure it’s a good experience - or just get things done.
5
Unschooling parents can create awesome childhoods for our kids — even if they're teens!
It's NOT too late!
We may or may not have had these ourselves. But we can make sure our kids get to enjoy their childhood.
6
Unschooling Parents can live at a slower pace. Imagine what that will be like to relax a little more. To tune into what YOUR family members need instead of accommodating someone else. It’s ok to have low energy and high energy days - we can really tune into what our bodies and minds need. It's such a perk to not have to rush around madly at the crack of dawn to get a sleepy kid off onto the bus or to school on time. Rushing around tends to make us bark orders and interferes in our ability to connect with the child. This slower pace allows us to help the kids see what's needed to get where they want to go - without all the hurried stress!
7
Unschooling parents can learn too! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard unschooling parents say that they learned something they really enjoyed BECAUSE their kid had an interest in it. Whether we missed it in school ourselves, or we stumble upon interesting facts about the world, parents have the chance to learn more too! It’s a surprising bonus.
8
Unschooling Parents can parent they way they want. No more being The Warden of the School, or the Enforcer trying to get your kids to do well in the system. You're a family - not an extension of the system. And unschooling parents have the opportunity to learn more about how they want to parent - in a more connection-based relationship-focused way. Many of us have been convinced that our kids’ behavior is a reflection of how good of a mother or father we are - and we can start to unpack all that.
9
Unschooling parents can learn more about themselves. Unschooling will take you into the area of learning more about what YOU prefer. Maybe you’ve had to shelve that for a really long time. You might not even KNOW what you need or like. You’re going to have time to figure that out. Many unschooling parents discover new hobbies to explore and are able to model this for their own children.
10
Unschooling parents can break negative cycles. We can end up stopping negative patterns that we may have picked up from our own parents. Society moves on and parenting changes. Unschooling gives us the opportunity to break some of these cycles that are often passed on without parents realizing it. Sometimes many of us have had childhoods that were traumatic. This unschooling environment allows us to heal from these wounds and stop the negative cycles from being passed down from one generation to the next.
There you have it - Unschooling Benefits for Parents!
Did it leave you with some questions? You can leave them below in the comments,
And if you’re ready to dive into unschooling, I have two resources that will help you get started - The Creating Confidence Membership Group and the Jumping Into Unschooling Course. I’ll leave the links below for both!
Creating Confidence Membership Group
Get the Unschooling Support you need!
- Conquer your fears!
- Join a private unschooling community
- Group coaching calls with Sue
- Exclusive unschooling resources for members!
Learn how to put unschooling into practice!
So many awesome reasons to join the membership group!
Sue Patterson shares nearly 30 years of experience, brainstorming with group members and offering an enormous library of members-only unschooling resources.
You don't have to do this alone!
Unschooling 101 Course
Create a Strong Unschooling Foundation
— with easy bite-sized action steps!
- How to GET STARTED Unschooling!
- Learn how to Overcome Obstacles & Fears!
- Find out what Unschooling Parents DO!
- Develop your Unschooling Confidence!
Are you ready to jump into unschooling but wishing someone could hold your hand a little bit?
This course does that!
This step-by-step PRACTICAL approach will help you create the foundation you need to be successful at unschooling.
Imagine how many missteps you can avoid when you
have someone walking along with you on these early steps! I'm here for you!
INFORMATION + SUPPORT x ACTION = UNSCHOOLING SUCCESS!
Unschooling success comes when you learn all you can about how it works and you get the support you need because we all bump into obstacles along the way. But it also requires that you take a little action. You can’t just gather and gather resources without taking some steps to make it work. That’s what all my resources are about - helping you have the confidence to actually TAKE the steps to be successful at unschooling. You can do it! If I could - so can you. And you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out and I can get you some support.
Over at YouTube
Oh! I’ll be putting this podcast combined with the Pros & Cons from last year (the Part 1 episode) into a YouTube video this week. It’s almost ready. If you subscribe and click the bell at the Unschooling Mom2Mom account, it will notify you when it’s ready.
So until next time, enjoy the kids, check out the resources, and we’ll talk again next week!
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