Tips for your children to do their assignment

Doing you homework! It seems too easy, but it is very difficulty for your child. 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.

The problem is that you, and the teachers, can see some long-term benefit to studying. To the child it just seems to be a pointless hassle that is keeping him away from doing something fun. Not only that, if the child finds the work hard, and/or is used to getting poor grades for his work, the whole exercise becomes even more demoralizing and discouraging. Given all that, what child in his right mind WOULD want to do their homework?

So, you will have to do some homework on your part before you can get your child to do the class work 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.

How do you achieve that? Here are some suggestions:

1. Don't fight with your child. Yelling at them to do their homework probably won't work, and will just frustrate and infuriate yourself, your child, and the neighbors. Instead, be pro-active by setting up the home environment and routines so as to encourage good study habits. Focus on rewards rather than punishments.

2. Keep in touch with the school to find out how much homework is expected to be done and how long it should take. If your child takes more time or if the grades are consistently very poor, you should speak with the school. There may be some learning or attention difficulties that need to be addressed. That may be the underlying cause of not wanting to do homework. If your child finds the homework difficult to do on his own, you need to identify the problem and address it. You may want to speak to the teacher and ask if it is okay that your child spends a fixed amount of time on study even if he is not able to complete the given assignment. Some children are slow in writing, but that should not demoralize them.

3. If you can create a place that is conducive to working, it will help to make a routine. In any case, it is not easy to get homework done if you have to do it on your lap while everyone else is watching TV. Ideally you should have a study table in the child’s room where he can sit comfortably and concentrate on his work. But, if that is not possible, you can clear a space on the kitchen table by removing all distractions and interruptions.

4. Your child may need your help and support. As long as you don't start doing it for them, you must help him to get started. Sometimes, the child gets stuck because he hasn’t understood what he is required to do. Explain that to him, but encourage him to find the answers himself in books or on the internet. You can help with spelling questions or work through the problem in math. However you help, stay calm! Don’t expect unreasonable standards. It will only lead to frustration.

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. When 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. You can encourage your child to do his homework by rewarding extra privileges, such as TV, or family treats or activities. Again, you should start with rewarding the regular completion of work, and then go on to rewarding higher grades. For this, you can set up a regular schedule.

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. If you don’t have so much time, you may find out about a homework club. Many schools offer to supervise homework after school. Many children like doing their homework with their friends under the guidance of the teacher rather than at home with 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.