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Few children relish the idea of sitting down and doing their class assignment. Many will put up some kind of a fuss - ranging from gentle grumbling, to procrastination and outright refusal. While parents and teachers have learnt their lessons and can see the long-term benefits of studying, the children have yet to acquire such wisdom. Right now they think it is a pointless hassle that deprives them of doing fun things. Moreover, the child who finds the work hard finds the whole exercise even more demoralizing and discouraging. Under these circumstances, who would want to do homework? So, you will have to do some homework on your part before you can get your child to do the classwork at home. You need to present it in such an interesting manner that it transforms the child’s way of thinking and outbalances all the negatives. However, don’t expect your child to be enthusiastic about it, but at least bring him to a point when he accepts the necessary evil and thinks it is better to get it done and be finished with it than to go on lingering on the unsavory prospect of it. Here are some suggestions to make homework slightly more interesting: 1. Don't fight with your child; it doesn’t help at all, but can make matters worse. Think of innovative ways of getting it done. For instance, you can modify your home environment and routines in such a manner that encourage good study habits. Always think positive, and give more rewards than punishments. 2. Check with the school about how much homework is expected and how long it should take. If it takes your child considerably longer than that, or if the grades are consistently very poor, it is time to speak with the school. It may be that there are some learning or attention difficulties that need to be addressed. The more failures you child experiences with respect to homework, the less likely he will want to do it - this includes both the length of time it takes to get it finished, and the difficulty of the work. If, for example, a problem with dyslexia means that it takes three times as long to complete the work, then perhaps you should agree with the school that your child will do as much as he can in the allotted 40 minutes (or whatever), and if it is not completed, then so be it. 3. It is important to allocate a place for homework; it helps to make it routine. Make sure the place is conducive to working. You cannot expect your child to do homework on his lap while everyone else is watching TV. Indeed, there should be no TV until everyone's homework is done. If you don’t have a writing desk, you could use the kitchen table, and clear it of all distractions and interruptions. Of course, it is best to set up an exclusive area for homework. 4. Provide help and support. Don't do it for them, but do help them to get started, or to find the books they need. If they need to do some research on the internet, maybe sit with them and help them find the info they need. Answer their spelling questions (unless it is a spelling test!) If they are having problems with math, work through the problem with them. Above all, though, stay calm! Getting frustrated with the inability to solve obviously simple questions won't help! 5. Lots of praise and encouragement. The first goal is to get it done, only after that is happening should you start to focus on quality! By and large let the teachers deal with the content of the work. Your job is to support the homework effort, and to encourage diligence and persistence. Let the teach correct the content. Having said that, you can, for example, encourage the child to read his work out loud so as to catch obvious spelling, punctuation, and syntax errors. 6. If necessary, set up a reward chart that explicitly rewards homework completion by means of extra privileges, such as TV, or family treats or activities. Again, focus first on rewarding the regular completion of work. Later on you can reward higher grades. Setting up a regular schedule is often helpful. 7. All children are not good at all subjects. Your child may have a problem with a particular subject. Then, you need to talk to the teacher concerned and work in tandem with her. Let the teacher tell you how much of your help is required and provide it. Once your child crosses the hurdle, it will turn into a successful experience for him. 8. You can help your child break up long-term projects into smaller units so that he feels encouraged after completing each unit. This will help him learn to organize and plan ahead. 9. Investigate whether the school has a homework club. Many schools provide a facility for children to stay on after the end of the day to complete their homework in a supervised setting. Often children find it easier to do that, than to try to fit in their homework at home around other family members, TV, meals and all the other distractions. 10. Finally, help your child experience success rather than failure. Spend more effort in teaching the concept than be in a hurry to finish the work. If he hasn’t got the basics right, he is going to stumble and fall. The rule of the thumb is: teach him to walk; he will learn to run on his own. Don’t insist that he starts running before he has learnt to stand on his two feet. And reward him at every step.
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Dr. Noel Swanson has a free newsletter on children's behavior problems and also regularly writes for Yes Parenting website. Click here to get your own unique version of this article: Uber Articles directory.
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