Homeschool World Forum

[Tyler'sMom]

I'm a single Mom of a troubled but very bright (academically) 14 year old. Just recently I have moved out of the province (Canada) and he chose to stay with his father, who is less than the perfect role model. Since the start of this school year, he has become involved with drugs, alcohol and has started skipping classes on a regular basis. Up till this year he has been (for the most part with lots of encouragement) an honour role student and was for the first 2 years of middle school part of a Challenged Program. He's just turned 14 and has chosen a path I'm extremely worried about. He's part of a 1,000 school system and I'm worried. Would home schooling be a good option? I know there are lots of experienced parents out there and I'm looking for some help and support.

Thank you!

Tyler's Mom

[Theodore]

The most important thing right now is getting him away from the drugs and alcohol. Where is he getting it? At school? From his "friends" outside school? From his father? It's possible that if you can get him off the drugs and alcohol, he'll go back to being a reasonably good student. However, it's far more likely that he won't, since your influence is minimalized by not being able to control where he is and who he's talking to during school hours. Your son needs to be brought home at least until he kicks his bad habits and gets used to doing homework again.

And this being a homeschool web site, I of course say, why stop there? Your son has already shown a tendency to yield to outside influences and cut classes, and there's no point putting him back into a situation where he's surrounded by temptation. The best thing to do is find him some better outside influences, either through community service activities or homeschool groups:

http://www.home-school.com/groups/canada.html

Idle hands are the Devil's workshop, and all that. Get him involved in extracurriculars where he has to work hard, preferably as part of a team. If he's busy being useful, he's not busy drinking and taking drugs.
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[Tyler'sMom]

You basically told me everything that has gone through my mind, outside influences no matter where or what school. Thank you so much for the support, even though as parents we know that we are not alone sometimes you feel so isolated when your teen is having problems and difficulties with life.

Thank you for the website, I'm doing my homework already.

Tyler's Mom

[Anne]

Here's a good message board for Canadian homeschoolers: http://cpeicheff.proboards26.com/index.cgi?action=login2 .