Woman's Day, August 1st, 2006
At the end of the day the last thing you want to do is fight with your child over math problems, book reports and science projects. Rather than nag, prod and argue, try these simple strategies instead.
Schedule It
Kids are natural procrastinators (“I’ll do it later”). And champion negotiators (“Let me watch one more TV show first”). But putting off homework only prolongs the agony—yours as well as your child’s. “Set a homework time and stick to it,” says Trevor Romain, author of How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up. And if your little Pinocchio repeatedly claims he has no homework, a call to the teacher is a wise idea. Even first-graders are expected to complete homework assignments nowadays.
Erase It
If attempting to squeeze homework into a long list of after-school activities gives you a migraine, it’s time to cut back (on the activities, not the homework). To decide which to drop, list them all and, with your child, rate each on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being “would die without” and 1 being “could live without”). You may be pleasantly surprised at how often you agree.
Don’t Just Do It
When you see mistakes in your child’s homework, provide coaching and guidance, but don’t simply give the answers. Instead of “I fixed three run-on sentences for you,” say, “I see three run-on sentences; can you find them?” Teachers can tell when you’ve helped do the work or, worse, done it yourself. It also makes it impossible for the teacher to get a realistic picture of your child’s skills and how well he understands the material.
Break It
“When homework is broken up into manageable chunks, it’s easier for kids to deal with,” says Romain. So build in breaks to walk the dog, eat dinner or watch a TV show.
Get Help With It
While social phone calls should be discouraged during homework time, a quick call to a classmate to discuss an assignment can be useful—especially when you’re too confused by the new math to explain it. But if your child seems to need excessive help, talk with his teacher about getting extra help or outside tutoring.
