There is a quiet but troubling trend gaining ground in recent years: parents withdrawing their children from school not because of genuine medical needs or extraordinary circumstances, but because of ideology — or, if one peels away the rhetoric, out of convenience.

At first glance, the image is seductive: children running free in the countryside, building dens, playing and spending long days under the open sky. For parents disillusioned with modern systems, this vision appears to promise freedom, authenticity, and protection from the supposed “corruption” of conventional education. The rhetoric is often wrapped in grand claims — that schools are factories of conformity, that true learning can only happen at home, that responsible parents reject the classroom.

But beneath this romantic façade lies a far more complex, and darker, reality.

The Illusion of Freedom

Children denied formal education do not gain more freedom; they lose it. Schooling is not merely about textbooks and examinations. It is the crucible where young people learn how to socialise, navigate differences, develop resilience, and build the independence they will need as adults. To strip a child of this environment is not an act of liberation. It is a form of quiet control — ensuring that the parent’s worldview remains the only one the child is exposed to.

One of the cruellest ironies is that many parents who champion such a path themselves benefited from full access to education. They enjoyed the privileges of supportive families, financial safety nets, and opportunities for study, language, qualifications, and mobility. Now, having built their lives on those very stepping stones, they deny the same chance to their own children. What is framed as “protection” is often, in reality, a barrier to growth — and at times, a mask for convenience masquerading as conviction.

The Cost to the Child

A childhood without school is a childhood without peers. Friendships forged in classrooms and playgrounds are not frivolous luxuries; they are the foundation of empathy, collaboration, and identity. Without them, young people risk emerging into adulthood under-prepared for the world they must eventually face.

Even in cases where parents are attentive, the gap between intention and outcome is stark. A parent may believe that their knowledge is sufficient to educate their children. But no single individual — however intelligent — can replace the breadth of teachers, mentors, and influences a child meets in school.

The contradiction becomes even sharper when, while the children are kept offline, isolated from wider society, the parent themselves is constantly online — building businesses, cultivating an audience, and urging others to imitate their lifestyle. This dissonance is not only striking; it borders on exploitation. The children remain confined within the narrow orbit of their parent’s convictions, while the parent profits from persuading other families to follow suit.

The Seduction of the “Alternative” Mentor

Parallel to this phenomenon is the rise of online “mentorships,” often pitched to vulnerable adults seeking guidance, meaning, or belonging. Such spaces can be intoxicating. They promise empowerment, community, and access to secret knowledge withheld by mainstream systems. But scratch the surface, and patterns emerge:

Grandiose claims of expertise in areas as wide-ranging as parenting, business, or spirituality, without legitimate qualifications.

Exhortations to abandon schools, jobs, or communities in favour of an “awakening” lifestyle.

Exploitation of vulnerability, where disillusioned parents are persuaded that their frustrations with one system can be solved by following another.

This is not just a personal choice. It is the replication of an ideology — one that risks trapping not only the adult, but also their children, in cycles of dependency and isolation.

Why This Matters to All of Us

It may be tempting to shrug and say: “Well, those are their children, not mine.” But education is not merely a private matter; it is a cornerstone of society. When groups of children are systematically denied access to learning, society as a whole pays the price. The next generation inherits the world we leave them. If swathes of young people are underprepared, misinformed, or deliberately isolated, the imbalance ripples outward — weakening communities, economies, and even democracy itself.

And while some parents may genuinely believe they are acting in their child’s best interest, intention does not erase consequence. Good intentions, wedded to misguided ideology, can deform whole generations.

Beyond Ideology: What Responsible Parenting Looks Like

Responsible parenting is not about shielding children from every discomfort, nor is it about imposing a single worldview. It is about preparing them for a world that is vast, diverse, challenging, and unpredictable. It is about equipping them with the resilience to think critically, the empathy to coexist with difference, and the independence to stand on their own two feet.

True “awake” parenting does not cut children off from education but enriches it — by engaging with schools, asking questions, nurturing curiosity at home, and balancing structured learning with freedom to explore. It means being an ally to your child within the system, not cutting them off from it entirely.

To deny them education is not brave. It is not radical. It is not “awakening.” It is convenience dressed as conviction.

A Call to Awareness

For every parent tempted by the allure of ideological homeschooling, ask:

Is this truly about my child’s well-being, or about my own comfort?

Am I protecting my child, or am I limiting them?

Am I giving them the tools to flourish without me, or am I keeping them dependent on me forever?

The answers may be uncomfortable. But they matter. Because childhood is fleeting, and once squandered, those formative years cannot be reclaimed.

The measure of responsible parenting is not how tightly we can hold our children in our orbit, but how confidently we can let them step beyond it.

And perhaps that is the true gift of education: not obedience, not conformity, but the freedom to choose one’s own path — something no ideology, however seductive, should ever be allowed to steal.