Getting Kids...

To Do Their Homework

Tutors often have parents resort to hiring them as "enforcers of homework time." In other words, a stranger is called in because he or she holds power over reluctant students and has the paid time to watch over their shoulders. Indeed, getting kids to do homework can be one of the most frustrating tasks parents face. When kids don't get their homework done, they end up lacking basic conceptual understanding, and report card grades begin to slide downhill.

To prevent your kid's academic struggles from escalating, it might be time to put some new tactics into practice. If you are faced with a kid that isn't doing his or her homework, try keeping these things in mind.

Don't let kids get too tired before they start their homework. Many kids struggle to keep their eyes open following after-school activities. When tired, kids cannot concentrate, have a difficult time following directions, and cannot learn new concepts.

Keep activities pared down to what the kids are most interested in, and schedule them so that homework can generally be completed first. Talk to them about the situation and explain that participation in activities and time to play with friends is contingent on getting homework done after school. To compensate, consider allowing them to stay up a little later at night so they have "decompression" time to look forward to when they are done. Turn the TV off during homework and keep distraction to a minimum. Many parents send their kids away from the TV to do homework, but even from another room, the noise is often very distracting. Instead, try providing company and take some time out yourself by reading a book nearby.

Set aside a place in the house for homework. For many kids, this entails a quiet spot at a desk or table. However, some actually seem to work best in an area closer to the buzz of family activity. Make sure to get his or her input on the best place for concentration. The important thing is that kids associate a certain place for homework and concentration. Discourage him or her from using the place where he or she usually sleeps, watches TV, etc as a homework place.

Genuinely praise efforts to work on homework and persistence in understanding new material. Highlight specific achievements. For instance, "I'm really proud of you for sticking with those Spanish verbs." This is important for kids of all ages who often get discouraged when they feel that they can't live up to their parent's grade expectations. It has been proven that kids see through more generic praise such as “good job” and don’t absorb it as positive reinforcement.

In order to be able to use specific praise, it is necessary to know which concepts your kids are working on in school. Stay abreast of their homework and the skills they are covering in class. Don't be intrusive, but always keep an open dialog about their studies.

Talk to your kids about the homework situation as though you are partners trying to find a solution together. Be serious, but not condescending, and ask them for their input on how to make it better. Tackle these homework problems as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the harder they are to fix.
Finally, do not offer to pay kids for report card grades. It has been shown that external positive reinforcement can actually decrease a student's natural interest and motivation in an activity. Furthermore, they learn to associate reward with a letter grade instead of hard work (and these two things do not always correspond with each other).

By Derbyka12

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