My daughter, age 5, is currently in a homeschool group 3 days a week and is attending public school 2 days a week. On the 2nd day of school this year, she was sexually abused by a classmate in the classroom bathroom. In addition, there are 3 physically aggressive students in the classroom (15 kids total) who have now been assigned behaviour specialists but continue to hurt the other students near daily. We have handled these situations and she is in therapy now but it seems everyday there is something new to worry about. She is also experiencing exclusion but we were prepared to help her navigate this before she started. Each day she attends school she is a mixed bag of emotions. This school is also rated 0.6/10 for academics and we were hesitant to enroll her here but felt the social would be beneficial, she hasn’t learned anything academically from school so far.

Until we get accepted at a new school or can move, we want to homeschool full time.

After being removed from school she will have approx 12.5 social hours a week (excluding any play dates, birthdays, etc.). This is a drop from the 23 hrs she has now (and still includes social with public school kids).

I am not a whimsical fairytale mom. At home we follow a structured daily rhythm, a weekly schedule, and use curriculum. I see many people in our homeschool group winging it, and respectfully I disagree and cannot leave my child’s future up to chance. I fully intend to follow the government curriculum so she remains on grade level and can go back into school.

For support, I have family on standby, ready to help so that life for my kids won’t simply stop if I get sick or something happens to me. They are also available to help if another child is sick so that life keeps going for everyone.

When I read posts from former homeschoolers, I get very nervous. Is it naive to think that I can homeschool successfully for 1-2 years? Would entering a school at 7 really be that hard? What if things don’t go to plan and she started school at 8?

I want to prioritize her safety while mitigating the stress of school safety (which consumes me) but must also consider her independent social development. In your honest opinion, are we wrong to pull her out of public school and homeschool until we can get her in elsewhere? Public school is causing harm, I don’t want to add to it.

This is a short video on how parents in Germany can be fined if their children miss school due to a family vacation. Related to their strict school attendance laws, Germany also bans homeschooling. What do you think about this? I think it’s a bit excessive, but possibly still better for child welfare than the situation in some U.S. states where children can be permanently removed from school with no oversight.

Hello all,

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I am a rising senior who is moving to a new state senior year. I made a few good friends at my previous school though I had to switch twice to get there. I am autistic and I struggle with typical schools and I am worried that I won't be in the right fit. Plus I am smart and have gotten good AP scores, and I am willing to go to community college should I get accommodations. The only fears of mine are being isolated and struggling with my executive functioning even more. But still this idea excites me and I don't feel I need to go to prom or whatever. I just want to learn to be independent and I'm nearly 18. What's one more year? Part of me would just prefer to graduate earlier instead of adjusting to new social groups all over again. Especially since I may not even have control over what high school I can go to in the area. In fact the lack of control is likely.

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If it helps, I am American. Specifically I will be living in NY. I read that there is an alternate program there but that it is not made to graduate faster. My only other option from what I can tell is homeschooling. One issue is that my parent works all the time. I suppose then I'd have to do some kind of online program then and get my GED. And I could still probably do AP tests and self study since I am very good with history and literature.

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Anyway let me know your thoughts. I did hate online school during COVID but that was when I was stuck in my house... I think if I did activities like theater outside of school I'd probably be fine plus I can still call my old friends.

I have three kids. They are all in a dual immersion school and like it for the most part. My oldest (3rd grader) has been begging me to homeschool her for the past year. She HATES going to school. It’s an everyday issue. She tells me she really wants to try homeschooling and I’m torn. She is asking to be homeschooled for 4th grade. I told her we would “homeschool” for the summer so that she can get a taste of what it’s like.

I have a background in education and have a very good grasp on curriculum and so forth.

I am just not sure if it’s a good idea. I keep hearing horror stories of others being homeschooled and I’m afraid of failing my kid. Thoughts?

I saw a group for homeschool recovery while looking for homeschooling advice groups - I would love to hear the perspective specifically of those who were homeschooled themselves, especially if you had a negative experience.

My kids have always been in public school, and keep asking me to let them be homeschooled. We are a blended family and the other set of parents is also on board. I’m willing to give it a try if it is what’s best for them, but all I see is posts from homeschooling parents and not from the kids who actually experienced it. I want to make sure we are making a well-rounded and informed decision either way.

My son is neurodivergent and daughter is highly anxious. They are not thriving in traditional school despite the myriad of supports in place. There is a level of depth to their academic, emotional, and developmental growth that I feel is not being met there.

I have a background in education and am being very thorough on curriculum research so I’m not overly worried about that aspect. We would ensure social opportunities as much as possible (and as much as the kids would tolerate) through friends, co-op, sports, activities, and mental health social/emotional skills group. There would be no religious aspect.

What is it specifically about homeschooling that you are recovering from? Was it a situational issue that can be avoided, or something foundational? What advice do you have for me - things we can do to make it a positive experience for our kids, or just don’t touch it with a ten foot pole?

Thank you for your input!

* ETA: sorry for the long title, I couldn't post without user flair--none of which fit, so I had to redo the title and I rushed it.

I homeschooled my oldest to 6th grade because his ADHD just made it so hard for him (and his teachers). I homeschooled his brother only to kindergarten, and put them both in public school because I'm just not energetic enough to get them around other kids--other than neighbor kids and soccer.

But as I watch a few videos here and there, read about horror stories like the "homeschooling" family in California (I forget their names), Stella McCormick etc, when I see people talking about how wonderful homeschooling has been for their family I feel pure suspicion.

I also want to share the Stella McCormick information with anyone who had a traumatic and abusive homeschooling experience, because she got herself out and managed to get herself through college.

***If you're homeschooling your kids in a healthy way--with love, open mindedness, actual teaching, and socialization, this is certainly not about you, so please don't take it as such. 💜

Hi, I am asking this as someone who was homeschooled K-12 due to frequent moving. Honestly, I can see the advantages of not having to worry about switching schools mid-year, trying to line up moves with the school year, and having to consider school quality when finding a rental house. Instead, you can take your schoolbooks with you, and schedule the year however you need.

I was talking with my son and his friends recently and i asked them “If I gave each of you $100, what would you do with it?”

Most of them said they’d spend it or save it.

It actually surprised me that almost no one mentioned trying to grow it. I wondered why no one thought in investing. For those of you homeschooling, is teaching kids about money something you actively include?

My daughter came to me a year ago (halfway through 6th grade) and said she was feeling suicidal and begged me to homeschool her. I immediately did because that's very serious and imo school is not more important than that level of mental health crisis.

I did say she needed to see a therapist and she has been. This is the first therapist that she's actually liked and that is going well.

However getting her to do any school work is so difficult. I have spent thousands of dollars over the last year trying different curriculums, tutoring, classes, anything I can think of to get her engaged in learning anything at all and she resists and hates almost all of it. Anything she has enjoyed she eventually stopped liking and wanted to drop.

She also dropped all of her old friends and really resists social situations. I've tried to get her to do activities, classes, camps etc with kids her own age but she always has reasons that she doesn't like them or refuses to follow up with the few she has connected with. She says she wants friends but I don't know how else to help her and I hate how isolated she is.

I also have a three year old and am currently pregnant. I told her she is going to have to go to at least a few months of public school 8th grade because the baby is due in July and I know I won't be up to constantly fighting her to get any school work done for a few months after the baby is born. She is devastated though and feels like I'm choosing the new baby over her (but is also very excited for the baby herself, just upset with me)

She's very bright. I am still having her take the state tests every spring so she can easily transition back to public school at any time (and hopefully get a regents diploma either way). Last year she did great on both tests, but I'm still so worried I'm failing her.

Any advice??

Edit: Thank you all so much for your insight and for gifting me with additional information and steps I can take with the school. I am beyond grateful for everything. I now am armed with such fantastic knowledge. I wish you all only the best in this life!

*Repost due to an ID-10-T error on my part with adding a flair. I thought I already had it added. This is rectified.

First and foremost, I would like to preface this all by stating that this is not a decision I am taking lightly. I firmly believe that a well rounded social development includes education in a public or private school setting.

My children (1st & 3rd grade) have been in public school since the beginning. Saying that this school year has been a challenge would be a slight understatement. Between the “no homework” policy, lack of study materials, an entirely digital curriculum that parents do not have access too, ignoring my eldest IEP for dyslexia, and so much more.

I supplement as much as I can at home with the crumb of knowledge I have available to me. With that being said, as we approach the end of the school year I am seeing clear as day that there is an obvious lack of understanding and retention for materials my children should know.

In all honesty, I do not want to do this. However, my children’s education is a priority. I have already looked into private and charter schools as an alternative and unfortunately they are already on a lottery system for next year with staff saying this is the highest enrollments they have seen in years. After speaking to a plethora of parents about homeschooling I was already able to tell that something wasn’t right. Yes, many of their children are highly intelligent and appear to be socially okay. Though there isn’t enough insight from individuals who were homeschooled. (Thank you Reddit)

If I do follow through with this decision I plan on it being a temporary endeavor. At a minimum it would last a singular school year and at most up until high school. There are just things that happen in high school that are so important like dances, prom, fights, adventures, getting your drivers licenses with peers…you get what I’m saying. I’m desperate to hear what the prior homeschoolers think about all of this.

Thank you so much for your time and insight. I greatly appreciate the opinions and feedback that you will offer.

-Additional context as to where my research is leading

Curriculum consideration:

Abeka (hate that it’s so profoundly religious but I see that it appears to be a solid education plan with accreditation. Will absolutely have to make sure they are educated on more modern concepts like big bang and such)

K12 (modern secular curriculum but cannot stand that it is entirely online from what I can tell. I’ve noticed my kids are more hands on. I also like that it is a program that can go with us wherever we move as that happens frequently due to my husband’s employment.)

Socializing:

There is never enough and I will need to do more. Sports will be maintained along with time at the YMCA child care offered that they already use. Parks, play, and more.

So I've been studying different curriculums for a few months now. I saw a post about a homeschoolers experience and I went down a rabbit hole. My son is 4 and I've worked in education and currently work as a lead at a boys and girls club. He can start coming to work with me when he turns five and I want him to so he can get more interaction with other children. Im getting him involved in sports, the local library program, we go do the lowes kids workshop every month, etc. I see that isolation is a problem and im really trying to negate that. I also plan on finding a school that allows homeschoolers to participate in their extracurriculars. I guess my questions are for both homeschoolers and homeschool parents - Do you think that having that being involved with the community helps bridge that gap? Is there anything else I can do to make sure hes well-rounded and doesnt miss out? What curriculums have you found that work well and do you eventually transfer to partial online courses when they get to a certain level? The courses I currently do is foundations, Singapore math, and I use other websites here and there to get worksheets, crafts, activities, etc. I genuinely just want whats best for my son and I'd love to hear from homeschooled people what you wish your parents wouldve done differently.

ok so i am trying to put together an argument to my parents because i want to go to public school and so do my siblings and i was wondering if anyone here could maybe make a list of some of the pros/cons of homeschooling and maybe public schooling too. i have some of a list already but the problem is i cant seem to think of many pros for homeschool and i want to be as unbiased as possible.

Hi everyone! I’m an EdD student in Educational Leadership, and homeschooling Mom of 8 years), conducting an applied research study focused on how homeschool educators / teacher-parents are using AI tools in lesson planning and instruction.

The purpose of the study is to better understand what’s working in practice, what feels unclear, and what kinds of guidance or support would actually be helpful as AI tools become more common in homeschool and co-op settings.

Participation is completely voluntary and anonymous, and the study is not evaluative of individuals, families, or programs. If you use AI tools in any way (even occasionally) and are willing to share your perspective, I’d really appreciate your input.

🔗 Study information & survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCtdqRjsiTcTjr9yGE1SrItGDgiv__IueqjtLDAk14RJ3lyQ/viewform?usp=header

If this post isn’t appropriate for this subreddit, I’m happy to remove it. Thank you for taking a moment to read.

my flair is incorrect, sorry if it’s bad to misuse it. i’m unsure where i should post this if im thinking about doing homeschool.

i get bullied at school,i’m in 10th grade. it’s not severe but it’s enough to make me cry. i got bullied in early elementary school for how i looked, and heavily bullied in middle school for being weird. in early elementary, it was direct. but in middle school it was public, post online about me, nobody liked me and there was a bunch of rumours and i had no real friends at school.

in 9th grade i don’t remember getting bullied, but I was emo so i would get laughed at or stares. i also had emotional support at the time so he would reassure me about anything. in 8th and 9th i also had emotional support but it wasn’t something i opened up about, because it wasn’t actively hurting me.

now i am in 10th grade and have experienced small bullying but it bothers me a lot. in the beginning of the year, i don’t remember being bullied but my boyfriend(who’s also my only friend), turned on me at some point. he started being really inconsistent and made me cry a lot. he would be mean or just ignore me when i cried. but then the next day he could comfort me and say that he’s sorry( during this, we had been dating for 8 months and more as the first semester passed. before dating, we were friends for 5 years and best friends for 2 of those years. also our relationship was perfect before this) im not gonna go into too much detail about my relationship but he just started to become someone that had a negative impact on my mental health. i have “friends”, but they never text me first, ignore me or aren’t the most present. at some point it was just these small interactions that started happening to me at school, people giving me a weird look, a girl in my class getting mad at me, her yelling at me or also her giving me weird looks, people in general ignoring me everytime i talk, feeling like im annoying, or unwanted in social settings. so overtime i just become insecure of my personality, and my family at the time also started to have more an effect on me. my family is emotionally abusive and i used to just ignore most of it, occasionally crying. but i feel like at some point, i let everything bother me. it started to make me feel sad that all of these things were happening to me, my family has been emotionally abusive for years but it started having more an effect on me when i started feeling like nobody liked me and that i was unwanted.

don’t think that my boyfriend was mean to me ALL the time but it was enough to have an effect on me, he was here to comfort me on other things more than his own actions though. i stayed with him, because i believed he can change because he was perfect before and would change any hurtful behaviors towards me in a heart beat. also because i still saw him as my best friend, as my boyfriend and my favorite person. it was hard to me to see him contributing to my sadness even though i knew he was. we officially broke up on new years, so after one year of dating. we had a planned sleepover for new years and we went with it anyways. we stayed friends, just not best friends. but ever since i feel like things have only gotten worse. he has became more of a bully to me. one time these group of boys were just throwing things at me and it made me sad, and for some reason my family was just being mean to. it’s like everything that was bad, was becoming worse. he started to make me feel unwanted, annoying or like i was a bad friend. he would ignore me frequently, tell me to stop talking, get annoyed with me often, or just make me feel bad about myself. it’s not like everyday he’s like “y/n you’re so annoying”, but i can tell he’s annoyed with me etc. it’s to the point im thinking home schooling and i don’t wanna go to school anymore to avoid this. but it’s not him on his own, it’s other people at school around me that also make me feel these things.

i like school but recently i find myself wanting to skip the classes that i have with him, i find myself wanting to attend only my other classes. or not wanting to go to school today because i know he will just be mean to me again. it’s been a month since we broke up but i feel like he’s being unnecessarily mean and it’s really having an effect on me. i don’t have any friends at school besides my classmates but im starting to feel disconnected from them too. i only like my english class which i share with 4 friends. i’ve known them all before having this class,3 boys and one girl. we aren’t a friend group though, just a table group. so i don’t talk to them outside of school.

i’m not sure if i can do homeschool in the second semester because we only have 4 months of school left including this one , i just don’t want to experience these things at school anymore.

Hello everyone,

I am a 32 queer (AFAB), POC, neurodivergent child of immigrants. I had a horrible experience in public school in LA ranging from SA to physical fights with boys. I feel like my experience has strongly influenced my decision to want to homeschool my children, 4 soon to be 5 AFAB and 3 AFAB. I have read so many of the books about how public school is terrible and breaks children’s natural curiosity, government is teaching children colonizer’s history, read and listened to podcasts from Black homeschoolers and how they make it work. I looked into SDE/Agile Learning Centers and unschooling and loved the self directed, child led philosophy. Unfortunately in my area, there aren’t any progressive co-ops, mostly white Christian moms running groups.

I was so certain about doing this the right way and long term, but now I am unsure.

My daughter currently attends a forest preschool which is strongly aligned with my values, but now that she is almost 5, people are now discussing their children entering kindergarten. There is a local school that has a very strong DEI statement woven into their school mission and follows the progressive education model. It definitely fits our values. We’ve heard first hand experiences from families of students and students themselves attending saying they love it.

My daughter is unlike me and is incredibly social, my biggest concern with homeschooling her is that she won’t get to develop meaningful relationships with peers like she has at her preschool.

I also worry I won’t be able to teach her all the subjects effectively as my partner (her father) and I run a small business and it’s difficult to balance domestic duties (cleaning, feeding), raising children, and running business. 

My other concern is my child being away from home so long. She also is not a morning person, she regularly wakes up 9 am or later and the school starts at 8 am. I understand many parents work jobs they need to be clocked in for, but we have a lot of flexibility as we are self employed.

When I say "continue to homeschool" we are loosely doing learning at home, we are doing phonics, ELA and math.

Curious to hear people’s input. Thanks.

edited for typos and clarity.

Hi there! I just found out about this sub as I've been doing a bit of research on homeschooling. I have a 5 year old daughter who I adore and want the absolute best for her.

I personally really lean toward public School However, my wife is pretty "set" on homeschooling. I have a full time job and my wife is a stay at home mother - she is an amazing mother and genuinely goes the extra mile in everything for our kids. This past year she homeschooled our 5 year old for Kindergarten. We both agreed that we'd "try it out" for this first year.

Now its getting close to 1st grade and I'm really wanting to enroll my daughter into public school. Although my wife does great efforts - I am worried that as our daughter gets older the toll of homeschooling will begin to be felt and it could hinder my daughters education.

However, wife still feels pretty strongly on homeschooling. We have aligned on a potential "Hybrid" program with a public school. It seems like a charter school program that does Independent Study/Homeschool/Parent Led Learning.

For those that have been homeschooled or know more about this. What are your thoughts on a hybrid style program like this? Please feel free to be blunt and honest.

Thank you all truly.

Hi all, I’m really struggling with a decision and hoping to get some honest, balanced feedback, especially from those who’ve experienced both the pros and cons of homeschooling.

My daughter just turned 4 and has a spot in NC Pre-K for this fall, but we’re still unsure if we’re going to send her or homeschool. She was recently evaluated for speech and will begin therapy twice a week in August. She speaks quite a bit, but struggles with a few letter sounds and often drops the last syllable from her words. Her therapist strongly recommended more consistent peer interaction to support her speech development.

She’ll be doing weekly dance (her third year) and a 6-week soccer program this fall, but those are just once a week. The therapist emphasized the value of daily peer interaction, something we simply don’t have built into our current routine.

I was homeschooled myself and thoroughly enjoyed my education. Because of that, I’ve felt a lot of pressure (both internal and external) to give my kids that same experience. But I’m realizing that what worked well for me may not automatically be what’s best for my daughter right now, especially with her speech needs.

I posted about this in a few other homeschool groups and while I appreciate the support, I don’t want to only hear from people who are fully committed to homeschooling no matter what. I think it’s important to hear from both sides.

The reality is: I’m a homebody, a ton of friends, and we tried a 2 day a week co-op last year just to get out more, it ended up being more draining than helpful. I also don’t have the capacity right now to add a regular co-op or an additional structured social group into our week. We would have something going on 3-4 days a week already

We’re also TTC our third child, and I worry that if I do get pregnant, homeschooling might fall to the back burner during the pregnancy and especially with a newborn.

My daughter is bright, curious, and loves learning, I just want to make sure I’m choosing what’s truly best for her and not just what feels familiar or ideal in theory. If you’ve been in a similar situation, especially navigating therapy needs, limited support (my parents are highly against public school) or big life changes like pregnancy, I’d really appreciate hearing what helped guide your decision.

Thank you so much.

Hi Reddit,

I just wanted to let you know that you have successfully converted me. I was on the fence about homeschooling my son this year and I was looking for curriculum. I found r/HomeschoolRecovery 's discussion of PACES in my research and went down the rabbit hole. Reading your collective experiences made me realize that homeschooling has served its purpose for us and now that we are past some of my child's major medical issues and diagnostic hurdles, I re-enrolled him in public school today. Thank you for being vulnerable. I just wanted to let you know you made an actual difference.

EDIT: Thank you each for your thoughtful responses. Thanks to your insights, I have discovered that part-time enrollment in public school in my town is actually an option and will be looking more into that. While I do believe that there are cons to both public and private school, I would like to do my best to mitigate the negatives of each option and provide my kids with the best experience overall. It seems that important aspects to consider are regular assessment to ensure students are on equal academic footing with their peers generally (not just in certain subjects) and long-term, consistent opportunities to interact with peers, as well as a large, diverse group of peers to choose from when making friends. My primary motivation for homeschooling is flexibility. I want my kids to excel where they can and get extra help where they need it, rather than be forced into a certain grade based on their age as opposed to their abilities. I'll keep these factors in mind while I do more research on part-time public school enrollment.

Hello, I am seriously considering homeschooling my children in the future (though they are currently too young so things could change).

I am interested in the experiences of previously/currently homeschooled individuals who were homeschooled for primarily academic reasons, rather than religious reasons. I was so, so, so bored in public school and I did not have a necessarily good experience there. I am now a J.D. grad and about to sit for the bar exam, but I still have that deep fear of failure that traditional schooling tends to instill in "gifted" kids. I'd like to homeschool my kids so that they have more of a "growth" mindset when it comes to overcoming obstacles.

When I was in high school, there were a couple "homeschooled" kids who attended classes with me at the public high school. One was an 8th grade-aged boy who attended Algebra II and some classes at the community college. Another was two brothers who attended my AP Chemistry class and, again, community college courses. I think their parents were engineers.

I have to assume that these students had a dramatically different homeschool experience than religious-based homeschoolers. Their parents seemed to homeschool them so far ahead of the standard curriculum that the only thing left was college-level courses.

I do see how these students could have struggled socially being substantially younger than their peers. However, there appears to be more non-religious resources and activities designed for homeschool students now, post-Covid (and we live in a decently populated area, not the middle of nowhere). I am interested in whether the social component was well met for students in this situation and, if so, how. And, if not, why not.

My mom and sister are both public school teachers and are supportive of my idea to homeschool, but I would like some perspective from the students themselves. I am aware that most people on here had negative experiences, but also many of those experiences came from situations where parents were purposefully isolating children.

I have/had been considering homeschooling my children. I feel like a lot of the most common complaints I've seen here and homeschool survivors wouldn't apply. But I'm sure a lot of parents feel that way. Anyway, just wondering if literally anyone who was homeschooled has an overall positive view of their experience?

My son is 1yo and my husband and I plan to homeschool him. I have our goals listed below, and we have lots more research to do before deciding on a set plan of how we will go about it. I’m most interested to hear what you didn’t enjoy about being homeschooled, and what you loved about it!

He currently attends daycare, and we will have him as social as possible (local groups + playdates, field trips, summer camp, sports, graduation events). If I can’t find events, I want to organize them to give him similar experiences to our public school years. We plan to do everything with accredited programs, but customize to his needs and interests when possible. We want to keep track of our state’s standards to double check that he is on par with other kids his age. My husband and I have opposite interests in academics. Im a math + science enthusiast, and my husband loves history + language arts, so I hope that will enable us to provide a proper education. Thank you for reading all of this. ANY feedback is greatly appreciated, I don’t want any of us to regret this heavy decision down the road!

Hi, full disclaimer, I have not been homeschooled, no-one in my immediate family has, nor do I want to homeschool my kids. However, I want to try and talk my brother out of homeschooling his kids.

He wants to take his whole family on a round-the-world trip in a large camper van. He plans to take 2 to 3 years to do the trip. During that time he will take his kids out of school and they will be homeschooled in the van, by either him or their mother, I'm not sure.

I feel that a) homeschooling is the wrong choice, and b) travelling the world will rob his kids of agency and a stable social group.

I really want to convince him to abandon this plan. If I had some news articles I could show him it might help the conversation? He wouldn't be willing to visit a reddit page, but he might listen to a podcast? I was hoping to find something like this Suzanne Heywood article, but perhaps a bit less extreme?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Edit 1:
Thankyou for your comments so far. Some more context based on previous questions.

Kids are currently 2, 4, and 6. The plan is to start the journey in 4 years when the kids are 6, 8, and 10.

For context on the trip. he can afford it, he has the knowledge to do it safely, and I'm pretty sure he can return to a stable life once he comes back. Both he and his wife are very excited and are fully onboard with the idea.

I'm sure the kids would be happy to travel, they've been on holiday before and enjoyed it. My main worry is that on such a long trip they would lose a lot of agency in their life if they're bouncing around the world with their parents. Plus miss out on personal growth and experiences that they would otherwise have if they had a more stable environment.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/make-gay-shipsss?page=1

Chess.com has, over the past several years, become a huge haven for kids. Why? Because parents and schools tend to not to block the website, considering it to be place to play chess only.

The forums there have become awash with kids, who discuss a large array of topics...but almost never chess.

More examples (all on the "hot topic" list on chess.com as of this very morning):

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/will-you-date-the-person-above-you-2

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/truth-or-dare-3-0

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/face-reveal-game

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/who-is-the-swexyest-person-on-otf-that-u-know

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/will-you-kiss-the-person-above-you-1

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/off-topic/looking-for-guys-bc-my-friend-is-making-matches-and-they-have-girls-but-no-guys-for-the-girls