7 Tips for Helping Your Kid with Homework without Stress
Homework doing can be a very stressful time for kids and parents alike. Both of them feel roped into something they can’t get round, a situation ripe with fights and outbursts. Anything that will help mitigate the tension is welcome; so here are some tips towards smoothing over the strenuous period – try them and see whether you will be able to get into a happier mood and turn out better quality homework!
1. Keep yourself in the know
What will certainly help you handle the situation more easily is knowing what the class is working on currently. If you keep abreast of what’s happening at school, you can just pick up the thread and you’re on; also, your kid knows that you know, and it makes a change. Take care to read any information that comes your way. Some schools send newsletters or update their websites for parents to get the necessary information; some teachers also keep personal sites where you can obtain current information and even advice.
2. Set aside time for doing homework
Having a set time for sitting down at homework excludes useless arguments over when it is more convenient to get down to it and whether it would be better to do it later. No, when the time is set, it leaves no room for arguing. After a while your kid is apt to settle into the routine without you having to remind him about it several times over.
3. See that the kid is not tired and hungry
As you sit down to deal with homework, make sure the child is well rested and not hungry – these factors will get him or her more peevish, which is quite understandable! We cannot be expected to perform well when in the throes of hunger or tiredness. Maybe it will be a good idea to share a snack before starting out. Do not do homework right after school, let the child have at least half-an-hour break to take the edge off school day weariness.
4. Do homework in a special quiet place
The place where your child does his or her homework should be quiet, with as few distraction possibilities as possible. A TV set or a computer nearby will surely act as powerful distractors, stay away from them. You may try several places before you know where it will be quieter to work. It can be your desk or a dining-room table, wherever the work goes smooth.
5. Be around to help out
It does take a lot of time and is pretty irritating to participate in homework, but, like it or not, it is incumbent on us as parents to assist the child as much as we can. Mind, helping oughtn’t to mean that we decide it would be easier to do the sum or solve the problem ourselves! Let your child expect assistance from you, but not the answers – don’t knock the bottom off the learning process, yours is to prod them gently in the right direction.
6. Avoid arguing
Do you have to battle over doing homework often? How much time and energy does it use up? Probably the only problem you’re facing is these battles. Take a firm stand and explain there’s going to be no more arguing. Decline all attempts at drawing you out. You can agree that schoolchildren are overburdened with work and express sympathy with your child’s attitude, but don’t let it turn into a heated quarrel. If you feel one coming on, better walk out on it and leave your kid alone with the need to express dissatisfaction.
7. Keep up contact with the teacher
If there is any reason to believe that your child is falling behind, the first thing you should do is go and see the teacher. It’s only proper to keep in touch to check on your kid’s progress. Also, you may want to ask the teacher (personally or by email) to put in a little extra work with the kid on whatever subject is most problematic. It’s the more advisable since the teacher may be unaware that your child is having difficulties with his subject.
Doing homework can surely be one of the problematic scenes of the day, so it is surely worth your while to try and diminish the strain. These hints are only the beginning of the process which can result in serious changes in your attitude to homework time. Or maybe you have some tricks of your own that facilitate the difficult process?
