School is underway and with the classroom comes homework. With homework can come a hassle. Is there a struggle every week day trying to get your kids to get things done? If there is, it is totally normal. 50% of parents fight with their kids every night over homework.
Heather here from familyvolley.com and I have a few Helpful Homework Tips for Parents that will help ease the homework pain.
1. Be realistic.
We care more about their homework than our kids do. We know its importance because we have age and wisdom under our belt. We have to be realistic and understand that they just can’t possibly get it to the same degree we do. We also need to be realistic when it comes to the time they spend doing homework. Our children don’t need to sit in front of homework all.night.long. In fact, more is not necessarily better. Be realistic with homework time. A good rule of thumb is 10 minutes of homework for each grade your child is in. So a third grader should spend 30 minutes each night on homework. If you sense that your children are spending too much time on homework, it could be that they are getting distracted or more likely that they don’t understand the subject. Not understanding would be a totally different situation than refusing to do work because they want to play video games.
2. Avoid the power struggles.
We can’t make our kids do something, but we can control how we act and what WE say and do. We need to set appropriate expectations, consequences, and make sure we have a homework environment that is conducive for our children. If they choose not to study, we make sure the consequences are upheld. If homework time everyday is miserable our kids will not want to study. We need to do our best to keep the situation positive.
3. Schedule daily homework time and location.
Homework should be done at the same time everyday, and in the same place. Make it clear that this time is mandatory, even when your kids don’t have something due the next day. If there is nothing specific for your child to do, they can work on a skill where they are a little weak, study for an upcoming test, or get ahead on their work. Location should be clutter free and distraction free. NO electronics, or other distractions.
4. Be available.
No one likes to be all alone. By simply being in the same room as our children, we make homework fights less likely. This doesn’t mean we do their homework for them, but instead we are available in case they have questions. Even better, sit down at the same time as your kids and quietly work on something also. You could read, study something of your own, draw, anything. But make it your “study” time also.
5. Be consistent.
Consistency is vital to homework success especially as you are establishing patterns. If we tell our children that 4:30 every day is homework time but let them off the hook three days a week because they want to play with the neighbors, we have just sent the message that we are not really that serious. There will be time later on to make exceptions, but establish the patterns first and be consistent with them. We also need to be consistent with the consequences. If we say that our kids can’t watch TV until their homework is done, we need to stick to that. Research shows that kids who are consistent with studying and getting their homework done are more successful in school and in life.
6. Use privileges.
Explain to your kids that there are many privileges that will be theirs if they do their homework. When homework is done it means they can play with friends, use electronics, ride bikes, etc…. whatever it is they love, they can do once their work is done.
Stick with the basics when it comes to homework struggles and you will see positive changes in your child’s behavior. Study skills are life skills and helping our children understand their importance will go a long way for them in the future.
Have a question, or just want to say hello? You can find me at FamilyVolley.com. On Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or send me an email. I love making new friends!
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Be available is a great one when they’re small, so easy to try and leave them to it and get on with supper but they really need that together time
I agree! I realized the 15 minutes I take (my son is in kindergarten) with him eases homework fights so amazingly. Learning to embrace that as bonding time too.
Glad you enjoyed the article!
In Brisbane, Queensland the median is AU$ 49,167 to AU$ 67,921.
These are all great tips!
I think another good tip is to remember you can reach out to their teacher(s). It has been a long time since I was in school, and there certainly wasn’t common core, so often times I cannot help my fifth grader with her homework the way I’m supposed to. Whenever there’s a hangup on method, I reach out to her teacher via note or email (depending on the urgency). Having that connection can relieve so much anxiety!
That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Being realistic about the amount of time a child should spend doing homework is great, but when they have hours of homework each night that has to be done, we have no control over that…the teachers do. I had a teacher tell me that they are being told that kids are supposed to have 1 hour of homework per grade, so my 4th grader is supposed to have 4 HOURS of homework a night a cording to that scale, and most nights he has at least 2-3 hours! So what do you do about that when it is out of our hands and according to the teachers it’s out of their hands, it’s part of the common core curriculum?
That seems like a lot of homework. So sorry and frustrating. Not sure what to do about that.
Very good information. Lucky me I discovered your blog by chance (stumbleupon).
I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
So glad you are following along!
I have no choice but to be available. If I’m not sitting with my daughter nothing will get done. She is in second grade with adhd. She hates school and homework even more. She gets four math problems each night, must read for at least 30 minutes and then write a summary of what she has read, and practicing her spelling words. This process takes about 3 hours every night. So basically from the time we get home until bed time. We also need to cook and eat dinner and get a bath done, so literally she does not have a free moment until the last half hour before bed. I have talked to school and basically was told too bad it what she has to do and it’s a part of her grade. I truly wish we had the ability to homeschool. I provide the health insurance in my house though and we couldn’t make it work on his salary if he also had to pay health insurance.
So frustrating! So sorry. Homework is always a difficult time at my house also!