Terror of homework at the age of five

wasn’t that simple. She was writing as she lay on the floor and I was only allowed to say the letter once she had raised her leg and dropped her foot to the floor. Heaven help me if I said the letter a millisecond too early or too late. And don’t you be raising your eyebrows at the fact that I’ve done this. We’ve all been there... needs must.

I did try telling her I wasn’t doing it but I was held to ransom; she wouldn’t do her homework if I didn’t listen to her demands. Again, let’s not judge me for not standing up to a five-year-old. I’d been at work, we had a very small window of time to get the homework done before the mood would change and nothing other than a bath and bedtime could be achieved.

Not doing her homework gets dealt with very seriously at her school and she is always very keen to please, so the thought of getting into trouble for not doing her homework brings a level of hysteria. Hence the need to do it, foot banging or not.

I couldn’t give a damn if she does it or not, she’s five, I’d rather she was playing on the trampoline.

But she cares when, as happened a couple of weeks ago, she walks into school and is told before she’s through the door that she’s getting a red dojo (her school’s rewards system – green dojo for good behaviour, red dojo for bad behaviour) because she’s not finished her homework. She’s a good girl, she’s never had a red mark, so to get one for not handing in her homework was a big deal she didn’t want to have happen again.

I wholly disagree that homework is a behaviour issue; not doing homework at five years old shouldn’t be a big deal. If she is getting upset doing it, I’m not going to make her. And also, as many of us do, I have three children to deal with and a job to do. Sometimes fitting in homework isn’t our priority. When she’s 13 I will make it a priority but at five... I’m not going to stress. Although from now on I will because she’s terrified of getting a red dojo.

They’ve got years ahead to worry about their homework. Let’s not make it a punishable thing so early on!