Has getting your kids to do their homework become your second job? Make the process less painful with these strategies. You will need a willingness to get involved in your children’s studies, flexibility, self-sacrifice, and motivators.
Step 1: As soon as your kids come home, ask to see their homework assignments. If they see that you’re on top of their schoolwork, they’ll be more apt to do the same.
Step 2: Let the kids feel they’re somewhat in charge by giving them the choice when to do their homework – before dinner, after dinner, or half before and half after.
Step 3: Be available to answer questions or help with problems, but don’t make homework time even more painful for your kids by hovering over them, judging everything they do.
Step 4: Cut out anything that will distract them from doing their work even if that means you can’t watch TV or chat on the phone during homework time.
While your kids are working, do some “homework” of your own, like paying bills or reading a trade journal. This will make the whole concept of homework seem less unfair.
Step 5: Be generous with praise including offering kudos for simply doing the homework without carping about it. Young children in particular respond well to praise.
Step 6: Give them role models to look up to, people who did their homework like Einstein and Marie Curry.
Step 7: Offer incentives for getting for getting homework done consistently like clothing, a video game, a family trip to an amusement park or permission to go to a concert or party they’re dying to attend.
Step 8: Point out how the skills they are learning now will help them in the future. For example, tell you would-be actress daughter that she won’t be able to memorize her lines if she’s not a stellar reader.
Talk to your kids teachers if you feel that their homework load is unreasonable. In elementary school, 10 minutes times the grade number is sufficient. More than 90 minutes for middle schoolers or more than 2 hours for high school students is excessive.
Step 9: Set up occasional study dates with friends. While each student’s work should definitely be their own, studying with a friend can make homework more palatable.
It might be wise to check with your kids’ teachers just to make sure working in a group is allowed.
Step 10: If nothing is working, try reverse psychology. Stop trying altogether and let your kids discover consequences of not doing homework. Just be welcoming when they come crawling back.
Did you know half the parents polled in a survey admitted to having serious fights with their kids over homework?
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