My family attended the annual North Carolina Home Educators Conference this past weekend in Winston-Salem, the twenty-fifth year of the conference. In the last twenty-five years, homeschooling has rapidly grown in the state, and the success of homeschooling is witnessed simply in the staggering growth.

Like anything else, there are pros and cons. The detractors of homeschooling have long since given up any argument regarding academic results; homeschoolers consistently perform better on national standardized tests, and universities are heavily recruiting homeschooled students.

Instead, those who oppose homeschooling try to attack on socialization issues. Even those who aren't opposed to homeschooling, but who don't really know much about it, will ask a question such as, “Aren't you worried about the impact on your child's social life?”

I could make a flippant response such as, “Of course I'm concerned, and that's why my child is not in the public schools.” After all, I went through the public school system, and I know the things that kids learn from their peers that they should be hearing from their parents instead.

Now, before I continue, I want to make one thing clear. I am not here to attack the public school system. After all, I grew up in that system. My intent here is simply this: to demonstrate that, in general, homeschooling does not lead to issues with social skills.

No one who knows my kids will ever ask me about my kids' abilities to interact socially. They recognize that my children know how to converse with people of all ages, whether with children or with adults; they also recognize that my children are well behaved, respectful of their elders, helpful to those younger, and that they are responsible human beings.

I am not here to brag. I'll save that for the annual Christmas letter. I'm here to tell you that I've got tangible evidence – I've seen it with my own eyes – that homeschooled kids seem to be as capable of maturing socially and become responsible adults than their same aged peers in the public schools.

But it's not just my kids. There were literally thousands of kids at the homeschool conference this weekend. I saw them in the sessions; I saw them at the massive curriculum book fair; I saw them in the games and activity evening sessions; I saw them in the hotel restaurants; I saw them everywhere. Not once did I see a child whining, misbehaving, or acting irresponsibly.

What I did see warmed my heart. I saw older kids playing with younger kids; I saw teens not being embarrassed at being followed around by their younger siblings; and time and time again, I saw boys and girls who were polite and respectful to the adults, holding doors open, waiting their turns in the buffet line, or whatever.

I guarantee ... if you replaced those thousands of kids with kids who are going through the public school system, you would not see the same general behavior that I saw this weekend.

Why is that?

Homeschooled kids interact daily with kids of multiple ages, whether with siblings or with friends in co-op classes, homeschool sports teams, church youth groups, etc.

In homeschooled families with multiple children, it is expected that the older children will help the younger children; it is also expected that the older children will take on responsibility and motivation for becoming more self directed as they mature. Of course it varies from child to child, but the basic message is the same across families. The children know that they are being prepared to become adults; they are being prepared to become responsible citizens; they are being prepared to become active and integral components of society; they are being prepared to take on roles in government, medicine, engineering, the arts, and yes, even teaching.

In a homeschool, there is no bully on the playground; in a homeschool, there is no one teasing the child with big ears or with the funny last name; in a homeschool, there is no peer pressure.

Of course kids aren't perfect – neither are adults, for that matter. And we all will make mistakes. Kids do get grumpy when they don't get enough sleep, and kids will misbehave at times.

But day in and day out, when the children are in an environment where good behavior isn't just encouraged, it's expected; where an atmosphere of respect and politeness is the norm; and (especially) where the Bible is held up as the standard for how we are to live our lives, the kids tend to be responsible kids who will grow up into responsible adults.

I have three teens currently, and so far the teen years have been wonderful. My kids enjoy doing things with me; they aren't embarrassed to have me around when their friends are around; and they are in an environment where they understand that as they demonstrate more responsibility, they are given more responsibility. They are learning to be adults. And my ten year old is light years ahead of where I was at that age, in terms of maturity.

Are there social skills problems in homeschooled families? I'm sure there are, just like there are social skills problems in families that go through public or private schools. Are there more social skills problems in homeschooled families? Not on your life.