(NewsNation) — Homeschooling continues to become more popular among parents, shifting education standards in America.

More than 3 million students were homeschooled last year, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. That’s roughly 6% of all school-age children.

“I like that I can tailor their education to exactly their needs,” Laurin Patton, a homeschooling mother from South Carolina, said.

Patton believes homeschooling has been a gift to her family, allowing her to teach each of her three daughters at their own pace.

“I read something that said you gain more than 16,000 hours with your children by homeschooling,” she said.

Alexia Delarosa, a mother from Southern California, echoed the same sentiments. She has become a homeschooling Instagram sensation, too, posting daily videos of her teaching her two boys.

“I decided to hold class outside. We sang a good morning song and did everything we had planned for that day,” Delarosa said.

She explained that she mainly homeschools for safety reasons and values being able to choose what her kids are taught.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the top reason parents choose to homeschool is for a safe environment. Academic quality and religious studies follow behind.

While homeschooling offers an array of benefits and flexibility, critics argue it comes with its own set of challenges.

“Parents can not teach what they want, keep their kids completely isolated, abuse them at will,” Harvard professor Elizabeth Bartholet said.

States like Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois and Texas have minimal to no regulations on homeschooling, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The NCES says the main reason parents choose not to homeschool is the lack of socialization.

However, Patton told NewsNation that her girls socialize more now than when they attended school.

“It takes us a fraction of the time compared to the time they would be at school, and then we’re out and about. We’re doing things,” she said. “My girls go to ninja class, they take volleyball lessons, they do horseback riding. They are constantly out in the real world and that’s what I consider actual socialization.”