Enduring child homework battles and need some tips? Make homework time a breeze! Discover homework tips to boost focus, create a positive learning environment, and set your child up for success.
Many children are not at all excited about sitting down and doing their assigned tasks instead of playing with their friends. We prepared a few suggestions on how to make your child do homework with ease.
Child Homework Tip #1 Create a Steady Schedule
Getting child homework done requires adequate planning and following through. That is why one of the most important ways to make your child do homework is to separate study time from playtime, setting the second one as a reward. It’s vital to draw the line and set boundaries, such as x hours a day your child spends doing homework. If the hours are not an appropriate measure, then use a task list/to-do list to see how far along your child gets during the day.
Child Homework Tip #2 Create a Study Environment
Creating a right child homework study environment that motivates your child is also extremely important. If you have more than one child, make sure they are separated during their study time to avoid interruptions at all costs. What’s more, it’s vital to keep all unnecessary devices/gadgets away or turn them off during study hours as any sort of notification can disrupt a successful workflow. The truth is, child homework requires discipline. If you don’t stand your ground and be strict about the rules, your kids won’t get their homework done. As you already know, children have a way of getting away with doing what’s important.
Child Homework Tip #3. Make Study Time Fun
Another perfect solution is to combine study with fun. As per the previous point, keeping the toys away is a must to avoid distractions with child homework but you might want to consider getting some educational games or special toys during study time. Once the game ends, think of playful ways to get the toys out of sight.
Child Homework Tip #4. Use Child’s Hobbies To Motivate Him/Her
As a parent, you should be aware of your child’s hobbies or activities that give him/her pleasure. You can use these to motivate your child to do their homework. For example, your child might like singing; you could create rhymes or song lyrics that help your child remember history facts or famous writers. This way, child homework becomes a breeze.
Child Homework Tip #5. Get Involved in the Study Process
We have mentioned a few times that you can help your children with their study process. While in no way it’s a great idea to do their homework for them, you can totally get involved and teach your child how to learn study material. Let’s say your Let’s say the child homework requires preparing a presentation on a famous piece of art; why not take him or her to a museum and create an unforgettable real-life experience?
Child Homework Tip #6. Teach Discipline
We’ve mentioned this in an earlier child homework tip. Of course, your child should enjoy study time. However, your responsibility is to teach them discipline. That’s where goals and deadlines will help you. Check out our article on time management, which will give you some ideas. As a simple suggestion, we suggest you take an hourglass or a stopwatch to start noting the beginning and the end of a task.
Child Homework Tip #7. Teach Efficiency
At the same time, it’s vital to teach your child that efficiency is the key to success. The sooner your child finishes their homework, the sooner he or she can play or relax. That could also be a reward and a way to create a great sense of achievement. One thing to note is that while efficiency and speed are important, high-quality results are non-negotiable. Maintain this with child homework and it will cascade to other areas of their lives as they grow older.
Child Homework Tip #8. Negotiate with Your Child
Of course, your child will not always be willing to do his or her homework. What do you do then? The simple answer is to negotiate. Once you set your goals, rewards, time limit, and process flow, the rest is up to your child. You can remind them what they are working for and what awaits at the end of the tunnel once the work is finished. With this, child homework becomes a seamless activity in the home.
Child Homework Tip #9. Use Praise
Words can be extremely powerful when we talk about rewards especially with child homework. It may sound simple, but how often do we forget to praise our children? Once your child completes a task, don’t forget to express your joy and pride. Praising your child for the ‘small wins’ can mean the world to your child and inspire him or her to put even more effort into the next one. It can also help build your child’s confidence. You can read more about confidence here.
Child Homework Tip #10. Trust Your Child
Finally, give your child your trust. It is definitely important to oversee your child’s work in the beginning, but it’s also crucial to know when to let it go. Allow your children the freedom of doing their best and function without you looking over their shoulder. Trusting them with child homework is a great first step to giving them a sense of responsibility. Not only this will build up their confidence but also give your children the feel of independence.
BE AWARE on How to Make Your Child Do Homework:
1. Do not Punish
Throughout this article, we didn’t mention about punishment. Even when you have difficulty with managing child homework or getting your kids to do them, punishment has short-term effects. It used to be quite a popular way to discipline or motivate a child but since then, it has been proven many times that while it may temporarily achieve the parents the results they seek, it will NOT encourage your child to do well at school and also have adverse effects on children
2. Make it Rewarding
We have mentioned rewarding numerous times throughout this article; hence, it’s important to emphasize that rewarding your child with something unexpected is a great idea. However, there might be a better solution than a promised reward. Should you offer a reward for every successful completion of child homework? Here is the answer – as early as 1973, the children were tested to see how rewards affect the results of an activity, and many times, it was deemed to diminish the intrinsic motivation to get something done. Having intrinsic motivation means your child wants to do something by himself/herself without needing extra encouragement. By offering a materialistic reward, you may convince your child to expect some sort of compensation for their work, whereas your purpose should be to inspire your child to do their homework on their own accord rather than because you told them to.
Child homework doesn’t have to be a tug of war. Our hope is to inspire you and teach you on how to make your child do homework and study successfull. Some of these ways may not work on your children, while others may work wonders. The whole process is somewhat a trial and error process, yet it can definitely be fun for both you and your child.
During our summer camps, we encourage children to study independently and in a group with their new friends. We create various activities, games, and competitions to show the students that while they are learning English or other subjects, they can enjoy the process, and it doesn’t have to be monotonous.
Lastly, if you know how to make your child do homework efficiently and in other productive & fun ways, don’t forget to share them.
