How To Get Children to Do Their Homework

Many parents struggle with getting their children to complete their homework. But as we are all aware from our own youth, it is important for student understanding. It is also important for teachers as they gauge student understanding from independent practice. So how do we make both of these worlds converge? Well, here are a few simple steps to help parents encourage their children to complete their homework with minimal anguish.

1. Create a separate space in your home for children to do their homework. A quiet area away from all distractions. Children love the technology of today, including their TV's, computers, iPods, handheld games, etc. Remove these so that students can focus on homework. This will eliminate some of the arguments that tend to occur while homework should be completed.
2. Make it fun! Turn learning into a game. This is how educators get our children to learn, so why shouldn't we as parents use the same techniques? For example, I had a student who had difficulties learning his seven times tables/multiplication tables. But, he could tell me how many points the Dallas Cowboys could score, counting by sevens. So I asked him a simple question: "How many points will the Cowboys score if they made 4 touchdowns?" He quickly rattled off 28! When I had explained to him that he had just multiplied 7 X 4 = 28, he was so surprised. He even found himself educating his fellow classmates.

   Learning can be quite contagious when we stir a child's sense of accomplishment. Teachers are not asking you to educate your child. We are well aware that is our job, too, but when we work together, we can tell where students are successful and where they need more assistance.

   Another way to make learning fun is to make your own game out of it. Poker chips tend to have many uses. Every time your child completes a portion of the assignment, give them a poker chip. After they've acquired a given number of chips (I would recommend low at first), they can trade them for extra computer time, or Wii time -- whatever normally distracts them from their homework.

3. Challenge your child. Most of today's learning concepts have progressed with terminology. We once used the terms "borrow" or "carry numbers", or "rounding" -- those terms are all but extinct. So, why not take this time to learn the new lingo with your child. Tell him/her that you will do the homework with your child, but on a separate piece of paper of course. When you both finish, you can compare answers. It does help if you get some wrong "on purpose." This will allow your child to explain how to get the answer correct. If a child can explain how they arrived at an answer, a higher level of learning will take place.

   The best part of this task is bonding with your child. You will not only be spending time with him/her but it will be quality time. I have found that while you're just chatting, you'll find out more about what is going on in your child's life than when you directly ask him/her.

4. The old bribe! I prefer to call them incentives. I completely agree that desperate times call for desperate measures. There are some students who will do anything to avoid doing their homework. The key is to know what truly excites your child. You are the only one who can answer this question. In the past, I have heard that parents have created incentives like special time together, additional time with friends, or even tangibles that they purchase. I don't recommend the last one; you will find that your child will want bigger and bigger incentives and that tends to get costly. But sit down with your child and ask him/her what they want to work towards. You will probably find that they really just want time with you.

   Set your expectations low, as it may take a little time to get your child to buy into this new program. Set up something visually for him/her to be able to see in their homework work space, such as a chart or a poster. Each day they complete their homework, let them put a sticker of some sort on the chart. After they have received an agreed amount of stickers, they earn their reward.

   The key to success here is starting slow. Try to have a reward daily at first, and then gradually make it two days. Continue this gradual transition until you have one reward per week, and then a reward every two weeks, ultimately working towards once a month. Remember that as you increase the time frame, you will need to increase the reward. This is why I don't recommend buying things. There are 10 1/2 months in a public school year. The first and last weeks are usually fun assignments. That leaves 1o months of rewards. It could get costly towards the end of the school year. You will see that your child will eventually get into a pattern of homework completion and you ultimately can eliminate homework arguments with your child.

The best thing you can do as a parent is to constantly provide encouragement. Your child will ultimately want to please you and make you happy. I know that it is hard to be positive sometimes when your child refuses to do his/her homework, but the more you make homework fun and rewarding, the easier that smile will become. Now you can sit back, relax, and enjoy homework time too!