Research suggests parent involvement in homework has a positive impact on children, and some research suggests parents helping with homework has greater impact on grades than upbringing or the parents own education level. While parents may be tempted to throw up their hands when children refuse to do their homework, the child’s success may depend on the parent’s willingness to help children overcome problems surrounding homework.
What messages can parents give about homework?
Parents can help children succeed by giving clear messages around homework. Three key messages about homework:
- Homework is an important part of school: Children should be expected to complete the homework and hand it in when it is due. This builds responsibility and time management skills.
- Parental support is provided as needed: Some children are overwhelmed by homework, however children are less discouraged when parents offer comfort and help when the child gets stuck.
- Parents will not do homework for their children: This message allows children to know parents are there to encourage and help them, while communicating homework is for the child to complete.
How can parents help with homework?
- Check-in with your child every day: Parents can look at their child’s student planner or ask their child if there is homework. Daily questions like “What is for homework? When do you plan on completing it?” demonstrate to children that schoolwork is important, and it can help children plan for homework. Parents can also help motivate and give children strategies for paying attention and combating negative emotions.
- Ask your child’s teachers about assignment routines. For example, the child may have a spelling test every Friday, and a science quiz on the last Tuesday of the month, and a math quiz every Wednesday. You know something is wrong if the child did not bring homework home over three or four days.
- Clear homework routines will help homework go more smoothly and help build habits for an easier adjustment to increased homework demands in the higher grades. Homework routines can include:
- The child picks a space where the homework will be done. Some students may prefer their bedroom, while others may prefer the kitchen table.
- Help set-up the desk with the materials needed (paper, calculator, pencil, pen) or ensure the materials are within easy reach, such as a ‘homework basket’ on a shelf.
- Discuss with the child the best time of day for him/her to complete the homework. Consider other factors, such as the child’s energy level, and sports practice that may impact starting and/or completing homework. Typically, younger children can work 10 to 15 minutes and then need a 3-5-minute break, while students in grade 3 to 12 can work 20-30 minutes before a break. Here is some more information about breaks from Understood.org.
- Help the child develop a plan to complete the homework. Encourage the child to pick the order of completing tasks or the schedule they will follow. Sometimes a child may want to complete the hardest work first when he has lots of energy, yet at times a student may want to complete the easiest, quickest work first and have a sense of accomplishment.
- When developing a schedule discuss what needs to be finished, talk about how long each task may take, and plan around due dates of tasks. A rough guideline is about 10 minutes of homework per grade, as such as student in grade 1 will have 10 minutes of homework, while a student in grade 5 may have 50 minutes of homework. If your child is spending more than 10 minutes per grade level on homework, you may want to contact your child’s teacher.
- Look at others for help, such as siblings or grandparents. Parents may find it helpful to hire a tutor, such as an older student or a retired teacher, to help complete the homework.
- Sometimes all the homework cannot be completed and the child feels frustrated. Let your child know it is ok to stop for the night and get a good sleep, so your child is alert the next day for schoolwork. Leave the teacher a signed note explaining why the homework was not completed. If this occurs often, talk to the teacher(s) to determine if the assignments are too long or too difficult.
What if they still refuse?
Children that are not motivated by learning or by grades, other incentives may be necessary. Incentive systems, like a reward, work best when parents and children the system together as a team. This allows children to feel more in control, take ownership of the work, and are more likely to complete the work. Steps that may help are:
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- Describe the problem behaviors, such as putting off homework until the last minute or complaining about homework.
- Set a goal, for example complete the homework by 7 p.m., or putting homework in backpack before going to bed.
- Decide on a reward.
- Write a homework contract identifying what each person will do, including parents if necessary, to carry out their part of the agreement. Here is an example of a homework contract.
- Other steps regarding incentives for rewards and consequences can be found here.
- Create necessary supports: When students repeatedly do not understand the instructions, forget assignments, forget the materials, or forget to hand in the homework, rewards or punishments will likely not solve the problem. For some children cues and supports are needed in the school setting and home, and could be explored with your child and the child’s teacher(s).
Still having difficulties?
If homework plans, routines or incentives do not help, the parents may need to back up and figure out what’s really going on. Ask “What is the underlying challenge? Does the child think it is not their job to do the homework? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of doing well? Is it boredom? What is really going on?” Resistance is a sign that the child is struggling with something. Parent’s cannot help the child learn to overcome the problem if they don’t understand the real problem. If parents accept that the problem is NOT that the child won’t follow an agreed-upon homework plan, then parents can focus on the real problem… and be several steps closer to an effective solution.
How can educators help?
- Write homework assignments in the same place on the board each day. Posting assignments on the class blog for parents is also helpful.
- Set aside time each day for student to copy down the homework assignments in their planners. Also, the teacher or students can take a picture of the board using their cell phone, and email or text the pictures to the parents, or add the picture to the class blog.
- Assign less work, as some students work slowly and can become frustrated. For example, assign only the odd-numbered questions allows the student to demonstrate what has been learned without pushing too hard.
- Create a plan with the students’ parents (and the student if appropriate), that helps bring completed work back to school. This could include color-coded folders for completed work that the parent can quickly check to make sure it is completed and put into the backpack for the next day.
- Send a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly report home to parents of completed and missing assignments. How often a report is sent depends on the student’s grade and the subject matter.
The material above includes information from the National Association of School Psychologist article “Homework: A Guide for Parents”, the ADDitude website, and the Understood.org website.