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Instilling Good Homework Habits |
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In today’s world of overscheduled life, children may not find enough time for homework. On top of that, if parents show that attending dance, tennis, and soccer practice is more important than taking out time to complete the homework, then completing homework becomes a last activity of the day and sometimes, just is left undone.
Do you find yourself struggling to get your child to finish the homework on time?
Do you find yourself doing more homework than your child?
Do you find out at the last moment that your child “forgot” to do the homework?
Do you find in the progress report that your child was “late” in submitting the homework?
If you face any of these issues, we have some tips to help you. Over the years, we have helped many students with their homework and guided them towards good homework completion habits. We have had discussions with several parents on how to help their children become independent and more responsible about their homework. Here are some helpful tips: |
| Setup a proper homework area |
| A quiet place in the home where your child can concentrate fully on the homework with no TV, stereo, or phone conversations in the background would be a good place to start. Children need to understand that homework is important for them and therefore, a special place designated for homework should reflect this importance. |
| Create a timetable for the homework |
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Just as you have a schedule for your child’s piano or soccer class, set a time for homework too. If you can find time to drive your child to the tennis class, you can also find time to send your child to the homework table (quiet area as we discussed above) and ensure that he dedicates the time needed to complete the homework. Even if your child doesn’t get homework on a particular day, he should use this time to do general reading or writing sitting at his desk. |
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| Encourage them to do the homework on their own |
| Most of the times, the school teacher gives homework based on the concept covered in the class. So, if your child was attentive in the class, he should be able to do the homework by himself. As a rule, you shouldn’t be involved in his homework except to check it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. If you find that your child is asking for too much help or lacks understanding of the underlying concept, it’s time for you to take an action. Talk to his teacher to understand why he doesn’t understand the concepts. But don’t do his homework for his sake. Encourage him to be independent. |
| Get help early rather than waiting for too long |
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If the topic is difficult or he needs extra help to get the personal attention that he may not be getting in the class, get him a tutor to help him early. If in-home tutoring is expensive for you, take a look at the one-on-one Online Tutoring delivered in your home (e.g. from  ) so that your child can learn the topic at his pace. The advantage of Online Tutoring is that even you can sit in the sessions to see what the teacher is teaching and understand what works or doesn’t work for your child. But the main idea is to get him help right when you see him struggling with homework. Some students and parents wait for too long and then they have to take tutoring for a longer time or do extra efforts to catch up with the class. |
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| Be Assertive |
Children sometimes will come up with a variety of excuses to not do the homework at all or to not do it until the last minute so that they can ask for help from you. Once you have created a specific homework area and assigned a timetable, stick to it under all circumstances. If the homework time conflicts with a special TV episode, then so be it. Encourage them to finish their homework fast so that they can watch it. But don’t let them get you emotional or play games with you. Be assertive on getting the homework done on time. Once they realize that there’s no negotiation around the homework, they will just do it.
Homework is the academic connection between school and home. Whether you or your children like it or not, homework is the only way for you to remain involved in the academic aspect of his school and homework is the only way for him to reinforce the topic covered in the school. A properly and independently done homework ensures that your child understands the concept clearly and doesn’t have to struggle at the time of a test later.
Take homework seriously and ensure that your child understands its importance too. |
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About Author : Anu Bhave is the founder and President at - an online tutoring and homework help firm that provides very high-quality personalized, convenient, yet highly affordable supplementary education services to K-12 and college students. |
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