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20 Ways to end homework hassles

Contrary to most of the parent’s views, homework has its own benefits. It imbibes discipline, sense of responsibility, pride and encourages feelings of self-worth. However, after putting in long hours of study at school, it is quite natural for any kid to prefer other ways to unwind than doing homework. Homework is a chore, but can be a lot easier if parents offer help to their children to overcome the stress of completing homework. We have, compiled below some tips to help your child overcome the homework hassles.

1. Communicate

Subtly point out and reiterate the benefits of doing homework and see where and why your child lacks focus when completing this task. There could be few things which you may not be even aware that can be easily fixed to create a good atmosphere in helping your child to complete his/her task.

2. Homework routine

It is better to establish a routine so that your child gets into a habit of doing homework during specific time of the evening. Discuss with your child as to when he would be comfortable in accomplishing this task and set that time. You should also have a back-up plan for those days when your child could get late. Example: Music or dance lessons or a soccer practice can delay your child getting home.

3. Make them responsible

Make your child responsible to complete an assignment. You can gently remind her on the things that she needs to complete. Do not constantly follow up and nag her to finish the chore. Also remind them about the outcome of not completing homework. Let your child deal with the consequence of not finishing homework.

4. Be a role model

Children are observant of each and every action of the parent. Work along with her and show her how important it is to sort mail, pay bills, responding to e-mails. This way, you can be a role model to your child to show that she is accountable for the task assigned to her.

5. Help, not spoon-feed

When your child is having difficulty understanding a subject or a problem, ask him to verbalize his understanding on the subject. When he shows signs of getting close to the problem, encourage him to take the lead. Talking and explaining the subject or a problem makes it easier to move closer to the goal.

6. Check his time-schedule

Often children are burdened or are too occupied with various extracurricular activities that they have little time for homework and studies. As a parent, you can discuss and guide your child before signing up for an extra-curricular. See if it is practically possible for your child to fit in this extracurricular activity in addition to his academics. If you feel that your child is clogged with lot of other non-academic activities, try talking to your child and free up his schedule.

7. Set up the right atmosphere

Simple things such as poorly lit room, non-availability of the right chair, desk, study material can often deter a child from sitting down to do home assignments. Discuss and provide the right ambiance, enough study materials for your child that will help him focus to work on his home work. Having simple soothing background music can help your child to focus. Completely detest having television on when your child is doing the homework. Avoid letting him work at the kitchen table or other family places, since it is easy for a child to get distracted.

8. Start with a snack and games

A child will not be able to start on a task unless he is well fed and rested. He would often be starving after all the immense activities at school. Give him a snack once he comes from school and he can relax for few minutes before he gets ready to do the home work.

9. Provide enough guidance

While it is good to help your child finish that piece of difficult assignment, you should never do an assignment for your child. By doing so, your child will not imbibe the sense of ownership and will figure out an easy way of accomplishing a task. You will create a pattern which will be hard for you to break later on.

10. Avoid distractions

When your child begins the homework, ensure that she is not disturbed and let her focus on the task at hand. It is important for your child not have frequent breaks or distractions so that she will finish the assignment easily and quickly. However, it is good to have a ten to fifteen minute break between each assignment.

11. Be positive

Make studying and completing assignments a positive learning experience for your child. Do not overreact for his blunders and errors. Encourage him to do it better when he is close to a solution of a problem. Also guide him not to give up easily it right. Be empathetic and say something to cheer your child when he is feeling low.

12. Teach her learning aids

When your child has difficulty in remembering spellings or a rhyme, teach her some of mnemonics that will aid her in remembering those hard spellings. Come up with funny things that will make it easy for her to memorize a poem or a speech.

13. Be there

Let your child know that you are always there for her if she needs you for a homework question or guidance. It is important to make your child feel that you are accessible and approachable for her homework issues and such issues are quite important to you as a parent. Also, know when to draw a line when your child becomes overly dependent on your for the most simplest of the tasks.

14. Help them to be organized

It is quite important for every child to let you know of the daily assignments. Get your child to get organized to write down the assignments and tell you about it daily. This is especially applicable in case of a science or environmental study project. She can write it down in a book which you should have access to. This will help you to estimate the time taken for an assignment.

15. Set deadlines

Depending on the complexity of the assignment, set a time by when you expect your child to finish the homework. This sets deadline for your child to accomplish a task within the given time line. This way your child will manage their time efficiently. Contrary to popular thinking today, setting deadlines helps your child to learn self-discipline.

16. Avoid melt downs

Do not threaten or yell at your child to get the homework done. This will only cause anger and resentment in the child to get a negative feeling about learning and accomplishing a task. There are parents who threaten with loss of allowances and privileges if an assignment is not completed. This can actually have negative effects than you achieving the goal. Do not let homework strain your relationship with your kid. At the same time, never bribe your kind to finish an assignment. Instead, tackle the problem together by discussing about it.

17. Break it down

Help your child to break down the daily assignment into smaller chunks. Make a list and prioritize as to which one needs to be tackled first and those that can be handled at last. Group the assignments into categories such as writing, memorizing, studying etc.

18. Show interest

Merely ensuring that your child does the homework may put off your child. Be appreciative of his effort in completing and ensure you make time to check his work. See if there are mistakes and point them out gently and praise in case of good effort.

19. Divide your skills to help

Each parent can be different when helping a child with homework. One parent may be strong in languages while the other may be good at math and science. Depending on you and your spouse strengths, divide the responsibility between you and your spouse, so that the whole exercise is fun and pleasurable.

20. Talk to the teache
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If you find that your child is always struggling when completing an assignment within a reasonable time frame, you should bring it up with your teacher immediately. Do not wait for the next parent teacher conference to voice your concern. Talking to your child’s teacher may bring some simple solutions that you could put into effective use.

Homework helps your child to reinforce the concepts that has been learnt in the classroom. It helps your child in getting clarity on the subject. It also molds your child in achieving life skills such as self-discipline, time management and prioritization. With right support and guidance you can help your kids to study and take responsibility for their daily assignments.

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