Dr. Ari Brown, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, gives advice for back to school. Start smart: 10 tips for a healthy school year

HOME SCHOOLERS

By home schooling, you don't have to worry about heavy backpacks, bad lunches and separation anxiety. But the lack of social interactions could pose a problem. The solution: Meet with other home schoolers in your neighborhood and set up activities, Brown advises. Overall, "I think home schoolers do great," she says. "More hours with parents, one on one with the child."

Now, why is this important? Because it means that homeschooling is becoming more of a norm than a sideshow attraction. The very fact that someone from the American Academy of Pediatrics is giving word space to homeschoolers is huge. Now, granted, Dr. Brown is playing off the one sterotype I, and many other other homeschoolers, hate, but still, it's pretty signficiant.