HOMEWORK
You get home from work. You’re really tired and you still have to fix supper, clean the house, pay bills, mow the lawn, or go to a meeting. Your child needs some help with his or her homework. You sit down to help and find that you, too, have no idea what to do, or, you come up with something only to have your child say “that’s not how we did it in class.” Emotions become involved and a battle ensues between you and your child. You become especially frustrated because you want this short time you get to spend with your kid a happy time – not a fight. Sound familiar?
Homework time in many (most?) homes can be the pits. Here are a few suggestions that may help ease the pain and avoid the frustration:
First of all, accept the fact that your child will need your help from time to time. Be ready and willing to help when they ask. After all, you are the parent. This is one of your jobs, like it or not.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT take responsibility for their work. Help them as much as possible without doing it for them.
Instead of telling them the answer, tell them where they can find it themselves. Instead of doing the math problem for them, do one that is similar as an example. Show them which paragraph the answer is in or what page the answer is on.
Keep your emotions out of it! This is the most common mistake because it is so difficult to do. If your child is being uncooperative, CALMLY dismiss yourself from helping and let them know under what circumstances you will return.
If they insist on doing something wrong, let them. When they see the resulting grade, they will wish they’d have listened to you.
Set a specified time aside for homework. If your child has worked hard for a long period, let them take a break. (It is important to understand that what constitutes a “long period” will vary greatly from one child to the next.)
Remember to focus on learning the information, not just completing the work.
Finally, regardless of whether you think so or not, you are the most effective teacher for your child. If your child is in elementary school, read to them every night. Let them know that you think school is important – that attitude will pay off in the future, when your child will complete their homework by themselves.
You get home from work. You’re really tired and you still have to fix supper, clean the house, pay bills, mow the lawn, or go to a meeting. Your child needs some help with his or her homework. You sit down to help and find that you, too, have no idea what to do, or, you come up with something only to have your child say “that’s not how we did it in class.” Emotions become involved and a battle ensues between you and your child. You become especially frustrated because you want this short time you get to spend with your kid a happy time – not a fight. Sound familiar?
Homework time in many (most?) homes can be the pits. Here are a few suggestions that may help ease the pain and avoid the frustration:
First of all, accept the fact that your child will need your help from time to time. Be ready and willing to help when they ask. After all, you are the parent. This is one of your jobs, like it or not.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT take responsibility for their work. Help them as much as possible without doing it for them.
Instead of telling them the answer, tell them where they can find it themselves. Instead of doing the math problem for them, do one that is similar as an example. Show them which paragraph the answer is in or what page the answer is on.
Keep your emotions out of it! This is the most common mistake because it is so difficult to do. If your child is being uncooperative, CALMLY dismiss yourself from helping and let them know under what circumstances you will return.
If they insist on doing something wrong, let them. When they see the resulting grade, they will wish they’d have listened to you.
Set a specified time aside for homework. If your child has worked hard for a long period, let them take a break. (It is important to understand that what constitutes a “long period” will vary greatly from one child to the next.)
Remember to focus on learning the information, not just completing the work.
Finally, regardless of whether you think so or not, you are the most effective teacher for your child. If your child is in elementary school, read to them every night. Let them know that you think school is important – that attitude will pay off in the future, when your child will complete their homework by themselves.
