Having children changes the dynamic of your life. You have many more responsibilities and you often find that you end up taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting things from your childhood. One of the things that you’re likely to revisit is homework. In these moments, you may find it challenging to remember all of the English, science, or math knowledge you acquired over the years. Helping your kids with homework, however, is often an inevitable reality as a parent. You can find eight tips for helping your kids with homework below.
One of the greatest lessons that you’ll probably learn when raising kids is how important patience is. It’s going to especially be needed while doing homework with them as there will be times that they may not understand. In such situations, not allowing yourself to get worked up or annoyed should help them feel comfortable and remove any pressure they might be feeling. By being patient, they’re more likely to feel confident, comfortable and free which should help them do much better.
At times, homework is a challenge for kids because they simply don’t enjoy it. To help them out, try finding ways to make it more of an enjoyable experience. Identify the subject that they’re struggling with the most and find a way to make it more appealing. If, for instance, you find that they don’t seem to like reading much, to support them with their reading homework, take them to the library more often, and look for books on topics you know that they’re interested in. When your child finds a subject more interesting, they may find doing homework a lot easier.
Homework can be just as much as a challenge for you than it is for your kids. This is especially true if your knowledge isn’t up to date. Refining your skills in core subjects like English, science,and math could go a long way and ensure that when your kids come to you for help, you can come to the rescue. Having knowledge on subjects like math is especially essential as this is something you’ll use in everyday life. Fractions, for instance, can be used to solve real-life issues like calculating your income or splitting a bill which you can read more about on CalcuNation. Also, if you’re wondering how you can update your knowledge, it’s nothing a workbook or a few online quizzes can’t help.
When doing homework with your kids, encouragement is important. As mentioned in the point on patience, you want your child to feel comfortable and as though you’re their biggest supporter. You can encourage them by using words of affirmation and reminding them of how brilliant and capable they are. Sometimes, the only thing standing in the way of your child completing their homework with flying colors is a lack of confidence.
If your child is relatively young, you may find that a reward chart is an effective approach to take. It basically uses a chart to award your child with stickers every time they perform well. When they acquire a certain number of stickers, you can then give them the big reward whether it is an outing or a new gadget that they’ve been begging you for. Positive attention and praise can go a long way when it comes to encouraging as well as reinforcing good behavior. Also, allowing your child to choose the reward can encourage them to ace their homework too.
When it comes to doing homework with kids, studies have shown that UK parents spend an average of 3.6 hours with their kids a week but have a great appreciation and value for their teachers. This suggests that parents are often confident about the quality of teaching. On this note, building a good relationship with them could give you an idea regarding their expectations which could help you when doing homework with your child. Take time out once a week or during parents evening to speak to the teachers and find out their needs. Also, pay attention to how well your kids are doing on their homework, so you know what areas you need to put more effort into. By knowing what teachers are expecting, you’re more likely to be able to push your kids in the right direction.
Most kids are easily distracted by the many things going on around them. This could be the television playing in the background, their gadgets going off or a noticeable amount of noise. To ensure they finish their homework in a timely manner and can properly focus, try eliminating these distractions altogether. This could mean designating a specific area in your home to homework and making sure if anyone else is in the house, they don’t create distractions in that space and during that time.
There will be days when your kids don’t have homework, however, keeping them in the habit of working every day is critical. You can do so by scheduling a regular study time which means they have to read or go over the things they’ve learned whether they happen to have homework or not. In addition to this, making sure they have a regular homework time every day could be good for the sake of having a routine they stick to in place. Note that while some kids happen to work well in the afternoon, others may do their best during the evening instead. Just pay attention to what works best for your child and get them involved in the process too.
It can be a wonderful feeling when you see your kids excelling academically. Even more so, knowing that you were there to contribute to their success can be a defining moment for you as a parent. Next time you have to help your kids with homework, hopefully, you’ll remember at least a few of these tips.
Brought to you by our friend, Carol.