It is a well-known fact that most children hate homework, so here’s some homework help for parents. Probably the number one reason why kids dislike homework is because they HAVE to do it – there is no choice in the matter. But you as a parent can always change your child’s experience of doing school work at home for the better.
Here are some quick ways to make homework time a better time for all:
Homework Help for Parents Tips
Establish a Homework Routine
Having an established routine works wonders. If the time to do homework is not clearly set (and enfored if necessary), you are almost guaranteed to struggle daily to get your kids to do their homework. Study time everyday should be part of your house rules. When your children are brought up following such rules, then there will be no discussion about homework – it is already part of their daily routine.
Help Prioritize Tasks
Young kids can have difficulty prioritising tasks. Planning your day (to whatever level works for you) is such a powerful habit to develop that no homework help for parents list would be complete without it.
Make a simple to-do list with your kids on which they list the homework items they need to finish today. Then help them number these tasks in the order they want to do them.
Some people advocate to do the hardest task(s) first, while the child is still fresh and alert. Personally I like the idea of picking the easier, quicker items first. That way the child experience success quickly. Also, kids tend to look at the number of tasks still to do. If you leave the longest task for last, they should be working on it with good energy, because they will know afterwards is playtime!
Put distractions away
As much as possible there should be no interruptions while your kids are doing their home work. So things like radio, TV, computer and games should not be turned off and out of reach when doing school work. In this way your child will be able to focus much more easily on doing homework.
Be creative – Homework Help for Parents can be fun
Especially younger children get bored easily. Make their study time as enjoyable as possible. If you can, incorporate stories or even role-play that your child is a prince or princess and the homework is part of their training to rule the kingdom in the future. You can also do role playing and act as if you are the teacher and your child is the student. By doing this, your child will see that making home work can be a fun experience too.
For older children, have conversations about the usefulness of homework. You might relate it to a martial arts master, honing his skill.
Encourage Your Child
I don’t think physical rewards such as little toys and such are a good idea, particularly for a job that your child can be routinely expected to complete. However, every time your child finishes homework, make sure that you appreciate what they have done and tell them that they are doing a good job.
When you check their answers, make sure you hone in on the correct ones first and compliment your child on those. Only then move on to incorrect answers (if any) and ask them if they could have another look at them.
Definitely try not to bribe with sweets and chocolates. Doing so sets up a belief in your child that these unhealthy foods are highly desirable. These kinds of beliefs often carry through into adult life and it comes as no surprise to find many adults who are unable to stop sugar cravings. We do not need more unhealthy, overweight people in the developed world…
Don’t Do Their Homework For Them
Ok, this article might be titled ‘Homework Help for Parents‘, but that certainly does not mean DOING the homework yourself. Although well intentioned, doing a child’s homework for them is actually dis-empowering for your child. There is no sense of accomplishment and little learning takes place.
Instead, try to give hints on how your youngster could work out the correct answer themselves. Give them examples that are similar to the problem they are working on, but do not just give them the answer.
Homework Help for Parents – Closing Comments
Making your children love doing homework may not always be possible. But they will learn to see homework as a rewarding activity that they can take pride in. That in itself makes it enjoyable and fun, especially when you give them the responsibility and trust that they can do well in their activities after school. I hope you found our homework help for parents useful.
