How Do I Get My Child to Do his/her Homework?

Giving your child the support, motivation & environment they need to do their homework without the daily struggle is the key to success. 

At some point in parenting, we always face the dilemma of how to make our child do his/her homework. It seems daunting, and parents usually have trouble motivating their children. But, on the other hand, it’s a natural impulse for parents to want to see their children succeed in school, so they’ll need to get their homework done. Let me explain how we can help them to get the homework done effectively and steadily and get good grades in school. Read through the tips and make your child love homework.

Expectations

It seems simple but setting clear expectations for your child is one of the most effective ways to promote homework. Letting your child know what they can expect will give them a clear goal to work toward. Many of us want to make our parents proud, but how can we do that if we don’t know what will make them proud? set expectations for the homework to be finished and assure you will help when needed. 

Work along with him/her

Many children run from homework when they find it undoable. When you see your child wasting time, you should approach them and ask as a concerned parent instead of being upset with them. If they say they can’t think and concentrate, you should motivate them and give them examples of overcoming obstacles. It will be more beneficial if you work with your child and help them with any problem that comes their way; make sure to use third-party resources like youtube or a blog to show them you know what you’re doing as most of the time, we don’t think the people close to us know what they are doing. Show that it’s good to use more resources to understand the homework. This will instill confidence that they can understand and solve problems independently. 

Keep Track and Motivate

If you are not checking your child’s progress, they will not focus on homework and assignments. He/she will be his/her own boss since he/she knows there isn’t a parent checking on him/her. Autonomy is good, as mentioned before, but it is terrible when it is not monitored. Ask him/her about homework daily, quizzes and tests, check his/her homework daily, and make sure you are available if he/she needs your assistance. Sensing your presence and interest in his/her study will make your child do homework by himself/herself and try to get good grades. Always encourage an excellent result and support him/her when things aren’t right. 

Don’t bear his/her burden

I have seen many parents be the students again. You aren’t going to school. Your child is. Henceforth, it would be best if you weren’t doing the work for them. They must be doing it. Help them, guide them instead of taking up the pencil and start doing the homework yourself. Make them do their own work. When they take ownership of the work and face the consequences, they’ll start taking ownership of it and be responsible. In the process, you can give him/her the necessary guidance, motivation, and support.

Ambiance

Ambiance matters. Why would your child be interested in homework when his dad is watching TV and his mom is talking to her friend on the phone? He/she will want to do leisure stuff like his/her parents and enjoy their time. Parents must be physically supportive of their children, and caring for the environment around them can also help your child. To positively impact your child, you can create a work ambiance in the house. For example, make sure your child is seeing you performing tasks that are necessary to be done. Or you can read a book or do office work while your child is doing his homework so that he feels comfortable and remains undistracted. 

Never Force

Forcing will lead to bad consequences. Your child will never learn from homework, nor will he/she establish a good relationship with you. He/she might also get irritated and persistent because of daily forcefulness in addition to that, his/her motivation to study naturally might also reduce. Therefore, avoid all the forcing by applying the above mentioned methods and bear fruitful results.

TO CONCLUDE

Homework is meant for continued learning at home. If that learning is seen as a negative experience, it will be no good for the child. Your child must have the spirit to learn; if he/she doesn’t, you must promote the love for learning to them. Help him/her love homework, make him/her curious about learning, and see him/her shine bright in the future.