Your child comes home from school worn out and quiet, again. Late at night, you catch yourself reading about online school. Then the doubts arrive: will they be lonely, and will it count? Wanting a better fit for your child is not giving up on them. And you are far from the only parent asking.
Common questions from parents
Will my child be lonely in online school?
Is online school as good as a regular classroom?
Does an online diploma count?
My child struggles in class. Will online school solve that?
Worried online school will be lonely? Ask how much of the week is live. Ask how big the group is, and who helps when your child is stuck.
What does this infographic say about online school?
The image puts two common myths next to what it calls the reality. Then it gives parents two steps to take. We agree with both steps. We also found three parts of the image we could not stand behind. We say those parts in our own words here.
- Myth one: that an online degree will not get you a job. This one is about adults and college. For a child in school, the useful question is simpler. Is the online school accredited?
- Myth two: that online learning is lonely. The image answers that online classes feel safe and personal. Our answer is that it depends on the school. The next section shows why.
- The survey number: the image cites a survey of hiring staff about online degrees. We could not trace that survey, so we leave its number out.
- “As good as a classroom”: the image says online learning works as well as a classroom. None of the research we hold compares the two for children. So we make no promise either way.
- The brain claim: the image says the brain’s power to change makes online learning work well. Nothing in our research files measured that, so we do not repeat it.
- Step one for parents: look at the options, and talk to the teachers about how the lessons work.
- Step two for parents: help your child take an active part in class, not sit back and watch.
A screen does not teach your child. The teaching inside it does, and so do you.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Is online school lonely for kids?
Some programs are lonely, and some are not. The screen does not decide it. How the school runs its day decides it. In some programs, a teacher meets the same small group live every morning. The kids talk, ask questions and work in pairs. In others, your child watches recorded lessons alone and sends in work. Those are two different days.
So when a program calls itself a community, ask what that means in hours. Here are the questions we would ask first:
- How many hours a week are live, with a real teacher?
- How big is the live group, and is it the same group each time?
- Do students ever work together, or only alone?
- Who does my child go to when they are stuck? How fast do they hear back?
- Does anything meet in person, like clubs or field trips?
Friends do not have to come from class. Sports, clubs, a faith group, cousins and neighbors all count. Parents tell us some kids who felt lost in a big class do well online. Others miss the noise of a school day. You know which one your child is. The same worry comes up for families thinking about homeschool. We looked at it in two myths that keep parents from homeschooling.
Key takeaways
- The screen is not the teacher: In our view, the teaching and the adult beside your child count more than the format.
- Lonely is a design question: A small live group each day feels nothing like videos watched alone.
- Your part is warm, not heavy: What parents do at home has a small, steady link with school (Barger et al., 2019). Help that turns into pressure goes wrong.
Will my child learn as much online?
This is the question under all the others. The image says online learning works as well as a classroom. We hold no study that compares the two for children. So we will not make that promise. We will not say the opposite, either.
Here is our view, and we hold it firmly. A screen does not teach. The teaching inside it does, along with the adult beside your child. A weak program stays weak wherever it runs. A strong teacher stays strong on a screen. We made that case in our piece on online learning.
The adult part is where you come in. Hundreds of studies link what parents do at home with how children do at school (Barger et al., 2019). The link is small, but it is steady. It held across family income and background. A second paper adds a warning. Helping with homework goes wrong when it turns into pressure (Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2022).
So what does good help look like on an online school day? Sit nearby at first, not over their shoulder. Ask what they learned, and let them teach it back to you. Notice when they drift, and ask what got hard. Talk to the teacher early, before small problems stack up. Then step back as your child finds their feet.
“The largest positive associations were for parent involvement at home, including discussion and encouragement, as well as engagement in cognitive/intellectual activities.” Grolnick & Pomerantz (2022), summarizing Barger et al. (2019)
You don’t need a credential to be your child’s first teacher. You already are one. The only question is whether you have the right tools.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Where your child learns is your call to make. The old way says wait and see, and hope the fit gets better. Waiting has never taught a child to read. Teaching does. Before you change the room, find out what is hard for your child. It asks what you see at home, and it does not diagnose. Start the free Learning Difficulties Analysis.
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Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
References
- Barger, M. M., Kim, E. M., Kuncel, N. R., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2019). The relation between parents' involvement in children's schooling and children's adjustment: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 145(9), 855-890.
- Grolnick, W. S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2022). Should parents be involved in their children's schooling? Theory Into Practice, 61(3), 325-335.
