education is compulsory

Because they haven't been subject to the socialisation restrictions that schoolchildren experience (see elsewhere in this article), and if they have been brought-up in a loving and respectful environment in which they are not 'shouted-down' and suppressed by adults, they are not so ‘scared’ of authority and find it easier to relate to all people, not just those of their own age.

"But if my child is left to determine their own education and timetable, they wouldn't be able to cope. They would sleep 'til midday! And when they did get up, they'd be so lazy. They would play computer games all day!"

Laziness is a term often used to describe the fact that the recipient is not doing what someone thinks they should be doing. Doing 'nothing-in-particular' is an important part of life. Playing games can be beneficial (I have found if you let children regulate themselves, they usually don't spend excessive hours in front of a screen). Sleep is especially important - medical experts suggest most teenagers don't get enough! We can't spend all of our waking hours concentrating, learning, busy, active, etc..

So home-educated children may not be up at 7.30am, so what? They would probably go to bed later as well, so they wouldn’t be deprived of sleep. More importantly, they would be waking when their body was ready, not when an alarm clock or shouting parent breaks their peaceful sleep 5 days a week. It's unnatural and we have no right to force this regime on our children when it is not necessary. Our children don't tell us when to get up or when to go to bed, so what gives us the right to tell them? Allowing them to regulate their own body-clock is just one of the many ways in which they can take control over their life.