Take the hassle out of your child’s homework
Some do’s and don’ts for parents
“IT’S time to do your homework.” “But Mom, Dad . . .”
Sound familiar? For many parents, these words are heard from mid-January to mid-November. What can you, as parents, do to improve the situation? Quite a lot.
Let your child relax after school. Children need some time to unwind after school, just as adults do after work. Ask your child to tell you about his day at school before starting homework.
Set aside a proper place to study. Primary school children do not need absolute quiet to work; after all, the classroom is rarely peaceful.
Select a specific time for doing homework. Homework is best done soon after children have had time to wind down after school, but before they are allowed to go out and play or watch TV.
Ask your child about homework. Most children tell their parents honestly what they are required to do: write a sentence or two, learn spelling words, work on a project, do a few maths problems, and so on.
Help your child to get started. This does not mean doing the homework for the child. Be prepared to sit at the table with your child and find out what needs to be done. Remind your child about the ground rules — playing or watching TV comes after completing homework.
Give praise and encouragement while your child is working with statements such as: “You are working well on your homework tonight, Peter. Keep it up.” Encouragement motivates a child to persist with homework.
Wait until your child asks for help before giving it. Children should be given the chance to tackle the task on their own before parents come to the rescue.
When your child asks for help, do not simply give the answer. Rather prompt the child to solve the problem, but be careful not to overdo this.
For example, if your child asks you how to spell the word “chair”, you could say: “How do you think you spell it? Get out a piece of paper and first try to spell it yourself. I’ll come back and have a look.” Give praise when the child attempts the word.
If the spelling is wrong, rather than saying “No, that’s wrong”, point out the letters that are correct first. “That’s nearly right. The first three letters are right. Have a look at the ending. Is it ‘e-r’ or ‘i-r’. Yes, it’s ‘i-r’. That’s right. Well done.”
If, after one prompt, the child still cannot get the correct answer, then it’s time to spell the word. Children sometimes get frustrated if every question they ask is met with a reply such as “Look it up in the dictionary first”.
Avoid overly criticising the child’s work. You may be very tempted to criticise work that is messy or incorrect. However, such criticism done in a tactless way often backfires and only discourages a child, especially if it happens too often.
Giving lectures and pep talks or scolding, nagging and threatening because of the child’s “attitude” to schoolwork often achieves very little other than making the child feel even more incapable.
It is often a good idea to encourage children to do rough copies of the work first. A final, neater copy can be done for handing in at school.
Check your children’s work before they finish. Remember, your children’s work does not have to be perfect before they hand it in to the teacher.
It can be devastating for the child who has worked hard for 15 minutes writing a paragraph only to have the parent point out 20 spelling or punctuation mistakes.
Offer a reward once the homework has been completed. This could involve praising children for finishing the homework or allowing them to watch TV or go out and play before supper.
Ramphal is an educational psychologist with special interests in career counselling and the learning and behaviour problems of children and adolescents. Visit ramphaledupsych.co.za