Even the most energetic and determined parent is likely to be overwhelmed at one point or another with the sheer amount of personal sacrifice it takes to home-school a child. Not only are all of the costs of curriculum and materials high, but individuals who choose to home-school must also spend time planning engaging lessons, and they sacrifice the "alone time" many parents enjoy while their children are at school. As a result, home-schooled children may witness their parents stressed out or drained as a direct result of their education.
While home-schooled kids are generally allowed more freedom to cultivate a unique personality than kids in the institutionalized educational system, they can suffer from a lack of social skills if their parents are not proactive about providing opportunities for socialization. A "Time" magazine article encapsulated the issue well: "Home schoolers are often very astute," said Richard Shaw, dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale. "But they often have to learn how to live with others."
Although a home-school curriculum is available for every age level, parents are ultimately responsible for making sure that their children understand the concepts outlined in each lesson. If a parent lacks knowledge in a certain subject area, or lacks the discipline to hold a child accountable for finishing lessons and taking quizzes, the home-schooled child is the one who suffers. Each individual state has its own set of home-schooling regulations. Some states require testing and professional evaluations of home-schooled children, while others require no testing or professional evaluations of educational progress at all.
Many learning institutions provide children access to expensive facilities such as gyms, theater departments, swimming pools, and science labs. These facilities are not immediately available in most homes. Although parents can supplement their child's education with field trips to places that have these facilities, most home-schooled kids are likely to have less overall exposure to these educational facilities during the course of their education.