In your experience...

[Bearcrumble]

what proportion of HE families are anti-vaccine?

Not sure how much of a correlation there is, I know a few HE families and the topic has never come up although I know that one mother is anti-vax and one is not- the others, I have no idea. I plan to HE and both my DDs have been vaccinated. Are you just being curious or are you worried for some reason?

I just wondered how often it went hand-in-hand. I'm not sure if we are going to home educate or not but if we do then I am hoping that the other families we'd get to know would not all be anti-vax, homeopathy types.

Haha! I had similar concerns the Home Ed community might all be a bit 'hippy'. But have found that is not the case AT ALL.

We are pretty normal. Vaccinated and everything. but I do breastfeed my 2 year old

I'm as normal as Mountain Dew is I think you do find a fair few people that are into 'alternative' stuff but I am very conventional apart from the tandem feeding. I think homeopathy is hogwash and don't have a spiritual bone in my body but I've never felt like I was the odd one out in HE groups

Oh well this is reassuring - I was going to keep breastfeeding to 2y+ but I am now pregnant again and despite my intentions couldn't keep it up past about 17 weeks (him 21 months) so that's not an issue as far as I'm concerned.

I would say that there are a fair few vegan/homeopathy/astrology types but equally many are not. The HE community contains pretty much any type of person you could imagine. We HE and our sons are fully up to date with all their vaccines! We also eat meat!

Among the home ed people I know, I would say that the minority are anti-vax. However, I have an idea that the proportion of anti-vax families in the home ed population is larger than the proportion of anti-vax families in the general population. Does that make sense?

Anyway, you definitely won't be the odd one out.

I'm a Home Ed wannabe. Also extended breastfeeder, vegan leftie.
I sometimes read Green Parent magazine and it riles me that all the astrology and homeopathy woo is mixed up with the environmental concern and attachment parenting.
None of it is compulsory.

Fully vaccinated here too.

in my area, the attachment parenting toddlers go in two directions. THe anti-vax lot all go on to use the Steiner school, and the vaxing ones mostly go on to HE...

I know and have represented many HE families in my area. The majority are conventinal families who dropped out of state edcation for a number of reasons (unsupported SN, bullying, poor school allocation etc).

The families who choose HE as a lifestyle choice are less conventional, but also fewer in number.

I am also a natural term bfing home eder who considers myself normal. We are vaccinate.

Like ommmward i know more anti-vac's who are using steiner than home eding.

Agree with timewasting re green parent. Grr.

found it... d

Sorry about that.

My friend's HE group were anti vaccine-so much so that they didn't want their DCs to associate with those who had been vaccinated!! They assumed my friend thought the same, without asking-however they were all fully vaccinated.

Sorry-not all but quite a mad few.

watch out.....I was a pro vaccine Paediatric/Neonatal nurse before we home educated........discussions with home ed friends, got me to think outside that box too.............you never know, you might change your mind too!

(could do with wicked emoticon!)