This is a partnered post with Stress Health, an initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness. As always, all opinions are my own.
Homework. For many of us it brings bad memories: long evenings spent over boring work that we didn’t want. Hadn’t we already been in school for 7 hours? Why do more work at home? It’s not surprising that a study published in the Journey of Experimental Education revealed that 56% of high school students in high-achieving schools surveyed claimed homework was a source of stress in their lives. Reporting an average of 3.1 hours of homework a night, they also linked homework with physical health problems and even alienation from other people.
What can we do to help our children? Here are 10 evidence-based Tips To Help Kids With Homework.
10 Tips To Help Kids With Homework
During my years of being a school teacher and from helping my own kids with homework, here are some strategies that worked well with both my students and my children. Implementing them could help reduce the amount of stress in their lives — something especially important if your children have suffered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs):
1. Develop a relationship with their teacher. As a former first grade teacher, I can’t stress how important this is for everyone. The principal at the school I worked for demanded we give homework assignments each evening. It was important to me that the parents felt free to discuss whether their children felt overwhelmed or if the assignments were causing them to lose family time. We worked together to develop a short routine of around ten minutes a night Monday through Thursday, which was a win for all of us.
2. Don’t start homework as soon as kids get home. We all have a list of things to do when we arrive home from work, but most of us want to take a little time to decompress, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Allow the kids to take a break to unwind, play outside, or just relax (and remember, kids 6 and up need at least an hour of exercise every day).
3. Develop a routine. Children thrive on routines. If possible, try to have your child study at the same time and in the same area every evening. It’s said that it takes 21 days to create a habit, so hopefully, your child will soon become used to the routine and know what to expect each week.
4. Don’t do homework right before bed. The later your children are up, the more tired they will become. This shortens their attention span, making the homework last longer. Aim for late afternoon, if possible.
5. Set up a homework station. Stock it with everything your child will need to complete his work, like paper, pencils, or colored pencils. Hint: Make sure the pencils are sharpened before they begin. Having everything in one place prevents procrastination (“I’ll start after I find my pencil”) and distractions (“Where is my pencil?!” )
6. Make sure the area is free from distractions. I’m a person who likes to work without being surrounded by family members talking or televisions or radios blaring. If your children are like this, find them a quiet spot in the house by themselves where they can concentrate. Homework will be done faster because they won’t decide the family activities are more fun.
7. Give breaks. If your children are becoming frustrated by the amount of time it takes to complete their homework, give them a short break. Even five to ten minutes can help them refocus and regain their concentration.
8. Watch for signs of stress. Because homework can be a stressor, look for signs that it could be overwhelming your child. Remember, signs can be different for every child, but some indications are frequent stomach aches and crying, inability to relax, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, or complaining about their ability to do homework. Here’s a true confession. I was so terrified of my fourth-grade teacher I spent the entire year crying myself to sleep each night, begging not to go school each morning because of stomach aches, and eventually being hospitalized because of illness. The doctor finally diagnosed me as having “nothing physically wrong with me because it was all in my head.” This was one of the reasons I decided to become a teacher. I wanted to make sure students never had to experience this kind of stress.
9. Don’t downplay the importance of homework. Sure, we’ve all seen the assignment from a teacher that we thought was ridiculous. I once privately complained to one of my child’s teachers — a fellow coworker — about her homework assignment to my child. But, even though I thought it was a dumb assignment, my daughter still completed it with encouragement from me. Most teachers, however, give assignments that aren’t busy work designed to meet their homework quota but are designed to reinforce skills taught in class. Try to remain positive about the homework — at least in front of the kids.
10. Look over the homework when they’re done. This is the easiest way to find areas in which they are struggling. You can even include a note to their teacher saying they need more help in this area. Many schools have tutoring programs that can help. It can also help your child’s teacher prepare their lesson plans to review areas where students are struggling.
Is your child showing symptoms of chronic stress? Take the ACE quiz to find out. Need solutions? Check out the resources from Stress Health, a website from the Center For Youth Wellness.
How do you handle homework battles at your house? What are your best tips to help kids with homework?
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My husband and I have this debate all the time. He wants the kids to start their homework as soon as they get home and I am like they aren’t ready! it takes longer because they can’t focus.
Homework is a great problem in our house. It’s stressed for everyone. I hope these will help!
Great tips! Like Alli, I am a former school principal and I can tell you that these are fabulous ideas. Give this post to your school principal to include in his/her newsletter.
Growing up, I was never excited about doing homework as soon as I got home. Thankfully, my dad was super understanding and would give us a break. He also scheduled mini sessions to help us brush through concepts we did not understand.
Developing a routine is very important. We do homeworks after they eat their after-school snack.
Loved this as I am a mom of a third grader who suddenly has a lot of homework! I actually DO make her do it right when she gets home from school, but you make a good point. I always want to decompress first, so she likely does too!
These are all great ideas! My kids have their moments where they just aren’t interested.
Homework is important to solidify what was learned in class. Looking it over would likely help clear up questions if they are having a little trouble with it. These are great tips!
I love these tips! I love the idea of a homework station that is thoughtfully prepared for focus and comfort.
Homework can be a battle in our household. It’s nice to have some tips to help power through it. Middle School has been a big adjustment this year and we need to be more diligent about homework getting done properly.
These are some good tips. My daughter can struggle with her homework at times. Especially if it’s math.
You included one of my best tips and that’s to wait a bit before starting homework. We don’t do homework immediately after school. I let the kids chill out for a bit, have a snack and then we start on homework.
My daughter always liked doing homework. My boys are a different story. It is a headache trying to get them through their homework every night.
These are really helpful tips. We typically have a after school routine which I’ve found to be really helpful.
We are past this stage of our life. Will pass this on to my daughter for her kids
I will try ANYTHING to get my kiddo to be able to do homework easier! He HATES it so much. I will try these tips and see if any of them work.
I hope this does not make me a bad parent because I don’t check my kids’ homework and never did. I have a high schooler and midle school son who do well in school no thanks to me.
No bad parenting judgments here! Some kids do just fine with no help. One of my kids never needed my help. It just depends on the child.
These are all great tips on helping a child with homework. I’m a former school principal and I’m on team no homework unless a student is studying for a test. Kids have so many after-school activities and they need to spend time with family.
Alli, I am a former school principal as well! We need to talk!!