It's a constant struggle that often involves bribes, threats and punishment. No — we're not talking about getting your husband to take out the trash — we're talking about getting your kids to do their homework.
It's no surprise that many kids simply don't like it. They just spent hours "working" in school and are turned off by the fact that they have to bring home more work.
The problem is, parents get more anxious about getting homework done than kids do. We treat it like a report that we have to turn in at work the next day, and if it's not done, there's a chance our kid could get "fired."
Well, if it's homework you want, we're giving you homework: First off, tell yourself that you can't make your child solve those mathematical equations. He has to do them himself. Second, stop making it your problem. You're not the one who has to answer to the teacher tomorrow, and it's not your report card that your child will be bringing home at the end of the semester. The fact is, your responsibility as a parent is not to do his homework for him or to threaten to not feed him dinner if he doesn't do it. Your responsibility is to provide a working structure and system that your child can use in order to maximise his study time.
Still feel helpless? Read on and see how other mums are able to get their kids to do their homework.
"My son goes to a progressive school and they don't really believe in giving too much homework. When they do, they ask the parents to let the kids do the homework themselves so they can check how the child answered it and gauge how much they still need to teach him/her on the topic involved. The real challenge I have with Kaio is getting him to study for quarterly exams. Giving him a loose schedule to follow usually works. The schedule is peppered with tiny rewards (like ice cream, TV time or a short biking trip to a nearby park) for finishing topics." — Kris, mum to Kaio"I have a fifth grader now and I have to re-learn everything just to help her with her homework. When my husband and I get home from work at night, we check her assignment notebook to see if she did her homework already. We may not be physically around to monitor her while she does it, but we do make sure to check if she's done everything at night!" — Sharon, mum to Karen
"Getting Anne to do homework is like an everyday world war fight around here especially when it comes to the subjects she doesn't like. Like every kid, she easily gets restless and distracted, so it's a challenge for me to make school interesting for her. What I do is I encourage her and praise her when she does the job. She does very well and delivers great results when encouraged." — April, mum to Anne
"We got Hailey a table and chair just for homework. The trick is not to make her do all her homework in one go because she might get overwhelmed. I try to always make it fun for her like saying "Hailey, it's writing time with teacher mummy." We turn it into a game so she doesn't dread homework time." — Treena, mum to Hailey
"We set a certain time for homework everyday, and call it 'homework time.' This is usually when I get home from work at around 5pm, but I don't hover over her. I just let her know that I'm available to help her if she needs me, during that time. Knowing that mummy's homework help is only available during that window makes her stick to that schedule!" — Kaye, mum to Kara
"I explained to Sam that his homework is his responsibility, and if he doesn't do it, there are consequences. I taught him this by letting him see me do my homework. When I get home from work, I tell him that it's time to do our homework: his being work from school, mine, being household chores like doing the laundry or paying the bills. I explain to him that if I don't do the laundry, we won't have anything to wear the next day, and it's the same that if he doesn't do his homework, he'll get a low grade at school." — Monica, mum to Sam
"I make sure to have a steady supply of pencils, crayons and whatever else he needs in order to do his homework. That way, I never get the excuse, 'I don't have this and that.' I also clear the dining room table for him so he has space to work." — Ria, mum to Robby
From your experience, how do you get your kids to do their homework?
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