And often homeschooled kids get social situations tailored to stretch them in just the ways they need at just the time they need them. It's one of the benefits of an individualized education.

To anyone who is not homeschooling, it might help if you understand that "socialization" is called "The S-Word" by homeschoolers because that's the first thing everyone who isn't homeschooling asks us. As if we sit at home alone all day, every day... Um, no! Not how it works!
I prefer to call us "carschoolers" rather than homeschoolers because we're so rarely home. Plenty of time in the real world, sadly!

LOL, that sounds like us! We are at home for 3-4 hours in the mornings doing formal schooling, then the rest of every day we run around like crazy. Between baseball, karate, the G&T pull out class ds just started, homeschool coop classes and field trips, outside classes at the science museum, art lessons, etc, we are hardly ever at home.
The safety issue was not a major factor for us, but is a nice side benefit. We homeschool primarily because the schools in our area were not prepared to deal with a child working 2-3 grade levels ahead and when the local Montessori school closed we were left with very few options. Fortunately I was able to leave my full time job and only work part time so I could homeschool him.