A Stanford study published in the Journal of Experimental Education in 2014 has already shown that homework leads to stress and health problems among kids. Even as that is the case, schools continue to assign more homework today, according to another study published in the American Journal of Family Therapy.
According to education specialists Barbara Resnick in a Health Day report, easing the burden of homework among kids could actually be manageable, if only parents also take an active presence in their son or daughter's school work.
Among the things that parents must do to make homework less stressful include the following, based on expert recommendations:
1. Establish a routine with doing homework. Parents should begin by regularly checking the child's planner as soon as they come home and then stick to a particular time for doing the school work. "Depending on the child, that may be right after school, or they may need a break first," said pediatric therapist Rachel Rudman, according to She Knows. Having a routine will help the child mentally prepare for doing the tasks.
2. Monitor the time the child spends to finish the homework. It may be a good idea to keep a timer on hand to track this, according to Psychology Today. If the child is taking a long time, she may need the assistance of a parent to understand the homework better. However, parents should not finish the assignment for their kids. "Encourage, praise and support, but do not complete any work," said parenting expert Amy Hilbrich Davis via She Knows. "There is important growth associated with the process of understanding, attempting, asking questions and completing the work."
If the child takes longer to finish quite often, talking to the teacher about adjusting the assignments may be necessary.
3. Teach the child how to prioritize homework. "Although most parents are not formally trained as educators, the homework time spent together can be used to teach a variety of learning strategies," Resnick said in the Health Day report. "For instance, teach prioritization of assignments or how to break a larger assignment into more manageable pieces."
4. Do allow your kids to take breaks in between homework. According to Akron Children's Org, letting the child sit longer to finish an assignment may be counter-productive, so let her pause with some body stretches or snacks to clear her mind. Use the timer to keep track of breaks, too.
