How Parents Can Help With Homework

Homework is synonymous with school and parents want to help their children with this daily task. However, some have given into doing their child’s work for them due to assignment overload and competition between students.

Homework assignments are given to students so that skills learned in class can be practiced at home and more easily retained. When a parent is doing a child’s work for them, the educational benefit is lost. Parents can help with homework by doing the following:

  1. Instead of answering questions for your child, help them brainstorm to generate ideas.
  2. Provide a clean and quiet environment for your child to do their homework and don’t allow interruptions during homework time.
  3. Praise your child for the work they are doing instead of nagging them about what has not yet been accomplished.
  4. Look over your child’s work to stay engaged in what is being taught at school and ask your child questions about their understanding of the concepts.
  5. Help your child establish goals for long term projects. This teaches children a sense of responsibility and enables them to make plans and then follow through.

Keeping track of what is going on with homework allows parents to have a window into what is being taught in class. If a child is struggling in one subject area while completing homework, it may be time to have a conversation with the teacher about developing strategies to help.

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