If doing homework with a child usually ends with quarrels and a bad mood, and if you subsequently have difficulties and inconveniences because of this, you should read this article and be ready to take action to make sure that you will avoid the same situation in the future.
It is quite easy to start with the steps below first and observe how it evolves:
1. Find out the Reason
If the child does not like doing homework in any way, he comes up with various excuses not to start studying, be sure to find out what the reason is. It's important to know if this dislike applies to the entire homework assignment or a specific subject.
If the child does not want to start doing homework at all, then steps 2 and 3 might be helpful. If negative emotions evoke specific lessons, ask why. It is of great importance to find out the root cause.
There can be many reasons: the child does not perceive the subject, does not like the teacher, classes on this subject cause some unpleasant associations, and so on.
2. Let the Child Be Distracted
As soon as your child comes home from school, do not force him/her to do homework right away. They need a break to relax after school and have some free time away from lessons for hobbies or friends. It's great if this break is something like a walk in the fresh air or as an active game.
Young children may need to get some sleep. It all depends on the age, behavior, state of health of your child. The main thing is that they start to study rested and with a fresh mind.
3. Create Study Habits
It is necessary to implement a homework schedule to do it stress-free.
Make sure your child starts doing homework at the same time. Peter Branson, a specialist at hair transplantation emphasizes, that the daily routine is useful and also teaches children to be organized and focused. After some time, the child begins to perceive this process as something constant, like meals or bedtime.
Set a time frame (taking into account the amount of homework) during which the child is engaged, for example, one hour for younger pupils or two hours for older children.
There are at least two reasons for this. First, after this time, it is difficult for the child to concentrate and learn efficiently. Secondly, if you also count the number of hours children spent at school, it turns out to be almost like a full-time working day for an adult. That's a lot for kids. So it’s for the best to make sure that the child isn’t overloaded with the homework.
4. Organize regular breaks
To do homework easier and more effectively, allow your child short breaks - 5-10 minutes (remember: at work, you are also periodically distracted by your colleagues, tea or coffee breaks). At this time, the child can get up from the table and stretch, drink juice or eat some fruit.
This is especially necessary for kids who are just learning to write and sit for a long time in one position, "drawing" letters. During the break, the eyes will also have time to rest, and the child will have enough energy to continue doing homework.
5. Stay Near
It is much easier for the children to start doing homework if someone from their parents is around and is ready to cheer them up or just listen to them carefully. A first grader needs to avoid stress and be ready to help with the questions the child might come across.
Dad or mom should help very children to organize the processes and make sure that the child does not get overwhelmed by one thing and is ready to finish one task and move to another. This may require you to be present at all times for your kid’s homework. Then, as your child grows up and independence appears, you can agree that they do easy and understandable tasks themselves, but you are still there if the help is needed.
Another option - the child prepares everything himself, and you check.
Be sure to praise and emphasize his independence.
6. Do NOT Do Homework for a Child
The parent MUST NOT do the homework for a child. Sometimes you may be tempted to tell your child how to solve tasks or answer questions to get over with homework. But this is a mistake.
First, you are setting a bad example for your child, and don’t be surprised if after a while he asks you to do the homework for him.
Secondly, in such a way they will never learn independence and responsibility. On the other way, you can always prompt and show the right way of thought.
Your children are perfectly capable of doing their assignments, as it is based on the material provided at school, it might just require more time or some additional research.
7. Study Additionally
After observing your children doing their homework for a while, you can easily understand what exactly causes the main difficulties and what consumes the most time (some specific task or subject). It may be that writing or some grammatical rules, arithmetic, or retelling of the text is difficult for him/her.
If you want to help your child to do the homework stress-free, take extra time for these setbacks over the weekend, or also you can find essay writers that will do for you in a short time. Work with your child calmly, without haste, and after a while, this tactic will surely give a result. Your child will gain confidence in his abilities and will speed up along the process.
8. Talk Frankly
If your child perceives the learning process and homework more negatively than positively, talk to him frankly. The child must understand that not everything always works out right away, it is necessary to make efforts.
If the problem is with the teacher, be as tactful as possible. Say that a teacher is also a person, with his/her pros and cons, and the child needs to properly prepare in the subject and behave properly in the lesson. Perhaps the teacher is just very strict, and the child feels uncomfortable in his presence. In especially difficult cases, you should talk with the teacher and find out why the relationship with the child did not work out.
9. Hire a tutor only as a last resort
You should contact a tutor only if you see a clear gap in the knowledge in any subject, objectively confirmed by the child and/or the teacher. At the same time, you are not able to provide such a level of classes that would cover this gap and would enable the child to do homework without stress.
There is no need to overload the child with additional classes in a large number of subjects, even if your income allows you to enroll him in a dozen paid electives and hire as many tutors as you like. Your child will still not be able to assimilate such a volume of knowledge and be equally effective in all subjects. Your child's health and time for rest and recuperation are much more important.
10. BE PATIENT
Be patient and constructive and then you and your children will succeed. A joint effort, your kindness, and your patience will surely give results, and your child will learn how to do homework without stress.
Comments (0)