It seems that every school year, my daughter has meltdowns occasionally when she does homework. Eventually, the homework gets done but not without some pushback and frustration from her. My daughter is not alone because this is common for kids after a long day at school. When kids come home from school, talk to them and give them time to eat, relax and have snacks. This lets them unwind before they start their assignments. Here are tips for parents helping with homework to reduce stress.
Set Up An Area That Is Free of Distractions
If your child is prone to distractions, set up a space in the home that is quiet so they can concentrate on their homework. This would be a room without the TV, phone, and computer to lure them away from their studies. Tell your child that he is only supposed to do homework in this room and nothing else. Take away his devices until he is finished with his homework.
Set a Designated Time for Homework
When your child has a designated time for homework, it creates structure in his afternoon schedule and he knows what you expect of him. Set and enforce consequences during times when he doesn’t complete his homework at the designated time. Don’t schedule his homework time too late in the evening.
Review The Material and Concepts Yourself
It’s been a few years since you were in school, and the way you learned certain concepts 30 years ago are not how they’re being taught today. You can help your child with his homework by reviewing the lessons yourself and researching how to understand what your child is learning. Once you do this, you and your child can be on the same page during homework time.
Don’t Do Your Child’s Work
My daughter tries to get me to do her work by getting frustrated and threatening to quit on her lessons. This is manipulation and you shouldn’t fall for it. You can help your child by teaching him how to get the answers on his own through various methods, but it’s not wise to do the assignments for him. If you do this, he won’t learn the concepts on his own and it hurts his chances of success in school.
Give Your Child A Planner
If your child gets a homework packet every week, buy a planner for him so he can write down the assignments he needs to complete from the packet for each week. He’ll write down the subject, the assignment, and specific instructions from the teacher. This keeps him organized.
Look Over His Graded Homework
Look over your child’s previous completed and graded homework assignments. If there are problems or questions he missed, help him understand why the answers were wrong and discuss the right ways to get those questions right on future exams. Give him extra printables so he can practice on the weekends before returning to school.
Add Short Breaks
If your child is overwhelmed by his homework or is zoning out, add some short breaks during homework time. These breaks can include exercising, getting a light snack, or stretching. Screen time should not be included in the breaks. Breaks help your child relax so he can refocus on his homework.
Focus More on Understanding, Not Memorization
While your child should memorize the concepts to pass his tests, you should also focus on his understanding of the concepts. If he memorizes facts and passes his classes but still doesn’t understand the lessons, it defeats the purpose of homework. Make sure you break the lessons down in chunks so he can understand the concepts better.
Use Rewards
Another way to improve your child’s attitude toward homework is to offer rewards for their work. Some ideas for rewards include:
- Extra playtime
- A weekend visit to your child’s favorite restaurant or toy store
- Your favorite meal or dessert at home
- A special hairstyle for school
Make Sure They Turn In Their Homework
Some kids are easily distracted while doing homework and they may forget their homework at home once it’s completed. Purchase a folder and label it “Homework.” This folder will be where your child puts his completed homework every night before he goes to bed. Then he’ll need to put this folder in his bookbag so he can give it to his teacher the next day. Resist the temptation to do this task for him. If he forgets on some nights, let him experience natural consequences.
Use The School’s Homework Help Website
Many schools partner with online tutoring sites such as Tutor.com to assist students with homework and test preparation. If you’re struggling to help your child with certain assignments, have him go to the school’s homework help website and get assistance from tutors. Take screenshots of the tutor’s examples and explanations, send them to your email address, and print them out so your child can refer to them for guidance.
Watch Videos About The Lesson
Some kids are visual learners so you can have the child watch videos that explain certain lessons in a simpler way. Encourage your child to take notes of key points in the videos and then remove the device to minimize distractions. This may help your child understand his homework better.
Contact Your Child’s Teacher
If you want to know which topics your teacher is covering for each subject, contact your child’s teacher by email. When you know the topics, you can review these with supplemental materials in addition to your child’s homework for extra practice. If your child is studying multiples of numbers and factoring, you can print out some worksheets on this topic for your child to complete. The teacher can also give pointers on what he expects the child to learn.
Set Timers
Set timers for each assignment your child has to do. Some kids procrastinate and are easily distracted and timers can help them stay on task. When one timer ends, don’t reset the timer so your child can waste more time. Tell him that it is time to move to the next assignment and that he can revisit his previous assignment later.
Most of all, encourage and praise your child when he understands and completes his assignments without complaining and with the right attitude. Helping with homework is stressful at times, but when your child knows you won’t give up on him, he’s likely to push past the frustration and do his best.
