Homeschooling: Why Nadia Sawalha's Daughters Have Been 'Out Of School' For A Year
Nadia Sawalha: 'My Daughters Have Been Out Of School For A Year'
Amy Packham— The Huffington Post UK
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Nadia Sawalha has opened up about homeschooling her daughters, calling it the "best thing" she's ever done.
The Loose Women presenter, who revealed she pulled her daughters Maddie, 13, and Kiki-Bee, eight, out of school one year ago, as they weren't "thriving".
Nadia Sawalha has been homeschooling her daughters for a year
The 51-year-old initially sent her daughters to a fee-paying school in London, but now says she and husband Mark Adderley think it was a "big mistake".
Sawalha explained her youngest is partially sighted in one eye, so had to wear a patch for her first year, which made her feel anxious and that caused her to fall behind in her studies.
The mum-of-two said Maddie began to hate school and would cry about going every day. When she decided to homeschool her, Kiki-Bee asked if she could do the same.
Sawalha added: "Maddie and Kiki-Bee are really bright, creative and artistic, and they weren’t right for a prep school, which readies you for an academic life."
The mum-of-two admitted homeschooling can be hard, but she much prefers it to having someone else teach her children.
"I don’t want my children tested every day and left feeling stupid if they haven’t achieved a particular mark," she explained. "I don’t think that’s the way to learn.
"Now my daughters are loving it. They’ve been out of school for a year and I’m not planning to change that."
Mum-of-two and Young Adult author Keris Stainton, who homeschools her two sons - Harry, 11, and Joe, seven, fully agrees with Sawalha.
She told HuffPost UK Parents: "I think it's great. As Nadia says, she didn't know it was an option - I think that's still pretty common.
"The more people talking about it - and the more mainstream it becomes - the better."
Stainton decided to homeschool her eldest son after he'd been in school for four years, because she felt the curriculum was moving too fast.
"He'd be interested in something, wanting to explore it in more depth, and they'd already moved on," she explained.
"Originally I took him out for one day a week (I don't think you can do this anymore in most areas) and we both loved it so much that we decided to keep him home full-time.
"With our younger son, we never even considered sending him to school and we've never looked back."
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Stainton with her two sons
Stainton said she can relate to much of what Sawalha said about the differences between homeschooling and mainstream school.
She added: "I totally agree with Nadia on testing - there's much too much focus on testing and too little on the joy of learning.
"Also how her children are creative and artistic. I was stunned when my son's teacher told me the things he's good at aren't the kind of things school values: creativity and imagination. I think they're pretty important."
Stainton is aware many people have a negative view of homeschooling, but she believes the criticism comes from the fact it's different from the norm.
"I often get people saying 'Well school never did me any harm'," she said.
"But that's not the point. I'm not anti-school at all, home education just suits our family better. Like Nadia says, it's the best decision we've ever made.
"I mostly feel really lucky that I get to spend so much time with my boys."
Every parent of a thick-haired kid's worst nightmare, lice are insects that feed and lay their eggs on the human scalp. (Itchy yet?) How it gets around: Head lice is spread through hair-to-hair contact or by sharing things like hats, headphones, and hair brushes.Symptoms: The first sign of head lice is usually an itchy scalp. Check your child's hair for lice and their eggs (nits), which are usually whitish in colour and found close to the base of the hair shaft. The Rx: Suds up with a shampoo containing an insecticide. More and more resistant insects have been found in recent years however, and parents are turning to special heat treatments to eradicate these "Super Lice".Post-shampoo combing is also key, so be sure to get a steel lice comb (the plastic ones are useless -- don't even bother). Prevention: Watch out for group selfies! Scalp to scalp contact is a sure fire way to aid and abet these itch-causing pests.
Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease(02 of04)
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Known for causing painful blisters on the inside of the mouth, the bumpy, red rash can also affect hands, the bottom of feet, and genitals. How it gets around: The gross factor here is that the virus lives in the intestines and is spread through unwashed hands and surfaces contaminated with feces. Symptoms: Small, fluid-filled blisters are usually the first sign of HFMD but can be hard to detect if only in the child's mouth. Other signs include fever and flulike symptoms. The RX: There is no treatment for HMFD outside of managing the symptoms with children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen. The child is considered contagious and should stay home from school as long as a fever and open blisters persist. Prevention: Encourage your child -- and the whole family -- to wash their hands often. Note to parents: The virus can live in your child's stool for up to two weeks after the blisters have subsided, so be vigilant about washing your own hands after changing diapers or helping older children in the bathroom. HFMD in adults, although more rare, is decidedly more painful!
Pinworms(03 of04)
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This one's not for the faint of heart! Pinworms are parasites that hatch in the human intestines after eggs have been ingested by the host. Once hatched, the females then travel out through the child's anus where they deposit new eggs (cringe). How it gets around: Upping the ick factor here is that pinworms are spread when your child scratches their itchy bum, trapping the eggs under their fingernails for easy transfer onto surrounding surfaces. Doubly gross is the fact that the eggs can survive for up to two weeks outside of a host! Children can catch pinworms simply by putting their fingers in their mouths after touching an affected surface. Tellingly, the pests are most prevalent in school-age children between five and 10 years old. Symptoms: Your child may have a stomach ache and/or an itchy bottom. The worms can also be visible on your child's anus at night when the females are most active. The RX: Doctors can prescribe an anti-worm medication and there are over-the-counter treatments as well. Prevention: Children should wash their hands often throughout the day and avoid putting their hands in their mouths.
Impetigo(04 of04)
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This bacterial skin infection causes blistering and sores and occurs most commonly on the face, neck and hands of children two to six years of age. It's gross because the blisters can be hard to look at, depending on the severity of the infection. How it gets around: Impetigo is highly contagious and spreads through skin to skincontact or by simply touching something that someone with impetigo has also touched. Symptoms: There are two types of impetigo: 1. Non-bullous, which starts out as tiny blisters that burst, leaving "weeping" patches of skin that eventually crust over;2. And bullous impetigo, characterized by larger, fluid-filled blisters that turn cloudy and stick around longer than those associated with the non-bullous form. The RX: Treatment depends on the type and severity of the rash. An over-the-counter antibiotic cream can work well on some non-bullous cases whereas oral antibiotics may be required for more serious cases or bullous impetigo. Prevention: As with most communicable diseases, hand washing goes a long way in prevention. Because the bacteria that cause impetigo can also enter the body through existing scrapes, cuts, or burns, it is important to keep these injuries covered and clean, particularly in the classroom setting.