How parents can keep their kids focussed on homework
A PSYCHOLOGIST HELPS LISA SALMON IDENTIFY FIVE TACTICS PARENTS USE AND ADVISES HOW TO MAKE EACH ONE WORK BETTER. SPOILER: NAGGING WILL NOT HELP!
WE ALL know teenagers should do their homework if they want to succeed at secondary school – but that doesn’t mean they will do it willingly, on time or even at all.
Which is why parents often use a variety of tactics, ranging from helpful, to annoying to downright counterproductive, in an attempt to persuade adolescents to just get it done.
So what’s the best approach? Dr Kate Jenkins, psychology consultant at online platform MyTutor (mytutor.co.uk), says: “Homework helps teachers track progress and crucially helps students to fully understand what they’re learning.
“But getting teens to do their homework – that’s not so clear cut. Every night, parents across the country deploy a bunch of different tactics to help kids knuckle down.
“Of course, different teens respond well to different approaches. There are lots of different ways you can support their schoolwork – and some make for more positive family relationships than others.”
Here, Dr Jenkins outlines five homework supervision styles – and how to make them effective.
1. THE NAGGER
NO matter how many times you remind them to do something, it can still seem to go in one ear and out the other. Nagging inevitably produces resistance, especially in adolescents. So while you’re just desperate to see your teen get some work done before bedtime, often the more you ask, the less likely they might be to do it.
Try framing the benefits of getting the work done – and do it once, saying something like: ‘By getting this chemistry homework done, you’ll know what the teacher’s talking about tomorrow so you’ll be more confident.’
2. THE NEGOTIATOR
FOR kids incentivised not by the joy of learning, but by treats, you might find yourself striking deals as if you’re Lord Alan Sugar and they’re a contestant on The Apprentice. This can work for a bit, but for teens to really learn the study skills they need in adulthood, they’ll eventually need to learn how to motivate themselves. By bribing your teen to do work, it removes the positive reinforcement of just feeling good that you’ve done your best. Try to connect completing homework with emotional value or their aspirations, saying things like ‘You’ll be able to relax once your homework’s done’, or ‘This will give you some good notes when revision comes around’.
3. THE HELPER
YOU know your teen’s struggling with one of their subjects, so you see whether you can help. If you use one of their subjects in your day-to-day work, you think, how hard can a GCSE be? Sometimes a parent helping out can be a way for parent and teen to bond over a shared activity.
Most of the time, though, questions don’t look like they did when you were at school. Your stress can rub off on them.
This can be confusing for your child, who’s trying to reconcile one method taught at school with your method. If your child needs help, get them to identify the areas they don’t understand and make a list of questions to take to a teacher for extra help.
4. THE TIMEKEEPER
PARENTING can often feel like a full-time military operation, and no army is complete without a strict schedule. So that’s home by 4pm, snack till 4.15pm, chemistry till 5.15pm. It’s how Britain won the war, and how you’ll win the homework battle, right?