Do you have a homework battle at your house?  You’re not alone!

A recent survey by the National Center for Family Literacy found that over half of the families surveyed struggled with homework.  A whopping 46% of the parents said they had trouble even understanding the assignment enough to provide some help!

No wonder getting the job done is a fight.  But sometimes there are underlying problems. Here are three suggestions that may help at your house.

The Homework is Too Tough

Sometimes kids’ skills just aren’t where they are expected to be for their grade level.  Symptoms of this problem (besides an all-out refusal to do homework) include:

• low grades
• reluctance to show you completed work to check
• taking far too much time on homework on a daily basis
• responses that are way off instead of just a little bit wrong

If you think the work is beyond your child right now, talk to the teacher.  Explain that your student is struggling, and give some tangible proof that the struggle is real (as opposed to just a “behavior problem”).  Ask the teacher to take a close look and get some extra help for the child if needed.

And do what you can to build up the weak skills at home.  Take advantage of the free classes, worksheets and activities available on-line, and insist that the kid completes some.  Or hire a tutor.  One-on-one instruction works wonders.  (Here’s how I can help: CLICK HERE for info on tutoring)

There is Trouble Starting Homework

Sometimes getting started is half (or even ALL) of the battle.  Your student procrastinates, asks for help before even reading the directions, and wants you to affirm every single answer before he or she can continue.

These are signs that kids have poor confidence in their abilities.  Lots of things can cause this, including rough experiences in the classroom or even too much help in the past from anxious parents.

Try setting a timer for a few short minutes. Challenge your child to get a small number of problems completed, then check the work.  Praise work completed instead of work correct.  And when you do your homework check-over, don’t nitpick.  Don’t even correct!  Let them stand or not on their own efforts.  Does it *really* matter if the homework is perfect if they are not the ones doing it?

The Work is Hurried and Sloppy

Some kids sit down willingly for homework time, then hurry through. They do a haphazard job that is sure to yield a failing grade.  They skip problems or answer only the first part of each question. Their writing is practically illegible. In other words, the work stinks!

These kids often perceive a reward for ‘getting the work done.’ They do not perceive the benefits of doing a good job on that work. Often, the culprit is the reasoning that the quicker the work is done, the quicker they can move on to some more pleasant activity.

The cure is to insist on appropriate quality in the finished product.  And if the homework effort does not take up the entirety of the scheduled homework time, add in some extra practice activities of your own devising.  Every student has weak areas that can be strengthened.  And when the reward for hurrying through the work disappears, the quality will likely improve.

Check Out the Webinar!

“How to Eliminate Homework Hassles in 30 Minutes a Day” has even more hands-on, practical tips to battle the Homework Monster at your house.  CLICK HERE for details.