5 Tips to Help with Homework
Sometimes, all a child needs for help with homework are clear expectations and an area conducive to studying. If you want to give your child help with homework, I have some tips that can help ensure that homework time is a productive time for your child.
Help with Homework – Easy Steps for a Better Outcome
There are a few things you can do to help your child maximize his or her homework and/or studying experience. With these tips, you’ll have a space all set for productive study, and you’ll have clear expectations for your child and their academic performance.
Know Your Child
The path to learning begins with knowing your child. What are his or her limitations? Where are they weakest? What can be done to help improve those areas. All of these are important questions that need to be answered sooner, rather than later. For some kids, straight As are as easy as pie. For others, pulling all Bs is an achievement. When you know your child, you know what he or she can do, and you know how you can help with homework more effectively.
Establish Clear Rules
If you want to help with homework, establish clear rules. These rules are the setting for all other academic activities within the home. This comes back to knowing your child. For example, if your child loves video games and is responsible, set ground rules that all homework must be finished and finished well before gaming. If your child is a little less responsible, consider making video games a weekend only activity.
Establishing clear rules is a very personal and specific thing, but the upshot is that your child needs to know that homework comes first.
Establish Clear Expectations
You never want your child to be able to say, “I didn’t know you wanted X”, so establishing clear expectations is a must. If your child is a great student, all As might be appropriate. If you child has a little trouble, maybe all Bs is the way to go. Again, this is another highly individual thing and it comes back to knowing your child. Whatever the expectations are, make sure they are attainable and make sure your child clearly understands them.
Make a Homework Station
One of the best ways to help with homework is making a homework station. Your child needs to be able to concentrate to his or her fullest, so an area of the house that is free of distractions and outfitted with everything they need for study time is a great way to help them be their best on the academic front. If you have the space, consider setting up a desk strictly for homework activities outfitted with pencils, paper, and anything else your child will need to efficiently do their homework.
Talk with Your Child
One of the best ways to help with homework is to have a real conversation about it with him or her. It will most likely encompass everything else I laid out here, and it should also include your child’s thoughts and feelings on homework time. Remember, children are just short adults when you get down to it. Just like us, they feel better when they’re talked WITH instead of TO. The help with homework road is paved with good conversation.
Help With Homework Begins with You
Always remember that as parents, it’s our responsibility to make sure our child does his or her best. The path to scholarship begins with our attention and our willingness to help with homework. The above tips can make that much easier.