If you’re a parent of school aged children, you know just how much homework they can bring home with them during an average week. Piles and piles of it litter the dining room table, there are textbooks all over the coffee table, and you might even wake up from a midday nap with random sheets of paper stuck to your face!
Because of that, it’s clear to understand that homework is a big part of your children’s lives. It’s part of their regular schooling, and whether or not you agree with how much they have to do, they’re being assigned work to complete and that needs to be done.
So, how can you step in to help, in an effective way that doesn’t make a child feel even more micromanaged, stressed out, and like work is never going to end? It’s all about knowing your own children and how they approach situations, of course, but it’s also in the points below too.
Check them out if you want some practical advice on approaching the homework problem in a way that makes it easier for your child to tackle day by day.
Have a Set Homework Time
A set homework time is the best first step for households where homework seems to be a real challenge. If homework is made part of the normal, usual routine, and it’s not something the kids just need to get on with as and when, it’ll be a lot easier to find both the time and energy to get it done.
That’ll also ensure your child sees doing this work as part of daily life. Fun and games have their place, but so does a little bit of hard graft that ensures they’re keeping knowledge in their heads and reinforcing it for later. Of course, that can be hard to explain to someone under the age of 10, so for now, just rely on it being a rule of the home.
As part of this, you can also create a space where the kids can get their homework done. They can work together on it in this space, or you can work with them, and they don’t have to get it done alone in their own rooms. Now homework is a communal thing; that may also help them to understand patience and teamwork over time too.
To put the cherry on top of this routine, there could be a small incentive waiting on the other side. Choose one carefully; there are many ways to reward kids for putting in time and effort and picking one your kids will enjoy is essential.
Get Your Child to Talk Out Their Frustrations
If your child often has trouble doing their homework, but you know from the way they talk that they have no problem actually understanding the content, there may be something else going on. You know they’re good at the subheft, you’ve even heard them talk about how much they enjoy it, but you also know they’re terrible at actually getting their work done outside of school hours.
Even if you set a homework time like we suggested above, your child may be quite resistant to the idea of always having to spend a half hour doing their homework. It feels like they’re not getting into a routine with it at all, and even if they do sit down and try to work, they don’t make much progress whatsoever.
If this is happening, it’s best to sit down with your child and ask them some frank questions. Start with something along the lines of why they don’t want to do their homework, and remind them that they’re not in trouble and it’s OK to be honest here.
In doing so, you’ll get to the heart of the issue and make it much easier for your child to speak up about what’s really affecting them.
And their answers may surprise you. They may let you know that they don’t think the homework is essential because they already understand the subject. They may tell you they find it hard to focus on things when they’re not at school, and that frustration makes them feel angry and like they don’t want to do anything.
Whatever they say, accept it openly and honestly, and then work with them on it. You may even get an insight here that would really benefit their teacher as well – but be sure to tell your child beforehand that you’re going to share what they’ve said with someone else.
Teach Yourself at the Same Time
Sometimes your child will bring home a bit of homework they need to do, and when you sit down together to tackle it, you yourself are astounded by what’s being asked. You might not have a clue about how you can help or even what your child is supposed to do, and at a time like that, you may end up feeling totally incapable of supporting them.
It’s a common feeling for parents to go through, especially as homework has changed a lot since we were kids! The rules around subjects like maths and science seem to be totally different these days, and it feels like there are deeper concepts being tackled even at elementary school level.
That’s why, if you want to keep on helping your kids with their homework, you need to teach yourself at the same time. First, focus on using resources that are both good for them and easy for you to explain as well.
If you’re helping a younger child go through spelling, sentence formations, and how to sound out words to count the syllables, a site like The 6 Syllable Types: What They Are & Why They’re Important would be a good one to visit. You can give yourself a quick refresh on how these things work, and find ways to explain them to your child in a way that they’ll understand.
Then you can think about maybe even attending some casual classes of your own. This will ensure you’re up to date on how current schooling works, and that you remember how to break down fractions or balance chemical reactions. Better yet, you can take classes like these online.
Plus, if you have older children just starting to tackle these things in the classroom, giving yourself a proper refresher will really go the extra mile in helping them! It’s not essential and you will need some real free time for this, but it is a possibility to consider.
How Parents Can Support Kids When it Comes to Homework
Homework really is a part of the schooling experience. Even children being homeschooled or otherwise non-traditionally schooled are going to have things to do to support their academic career outside of the classroom. The issue, however, is ensuring that workload doesn’t become something that impacts on childhood itself.
It’s why parents can get involved and go the extra mile to ensure their kids’ aren’t getting snowed under. Homework is a good way to ensure education continues even without the classroom environment, but it’s not something a child should only see as stressful, and needing to be completed and gotten out of the way.
Because of that, make sure you’re stepping in to help out, that you’re teaching yourself at the same time you’re teaching them, and try to make homework part of the normal routine. And if you can make it a bit more fun along the way, the more power to you!
