English, Fun & Living in HK, Japan and Taiwan

Screaming! Tantrums! Arguments!  Is this what happens to you when you try to get your kids to do their homework?  It certainly happens to some of my students when they go home. So perhaps there are some things we can do to help kids do THEIR homework.

Don’t fight – Don’t fight with them.  Don’t turn the whole affair into a power struggle, because you will have to do this every time.  Instead, encourage them to do homework.  Sit yourself down with the books open and promise to help them as much as you can.  Setting an example can be more effective than any words.  Why not do some of your work at the same time?

Encourage Your Kids – Encourage them with kind words and lots of questions that are easy to answer.  Help them with the answers too, if they have problems.  If they can’t answer, maybe they don’t understand the question or they have forgotten. Confidence in doing homework is something children really need.

Take Breaks – Remember their concentration on one task is not the same as yours, they have a very short attention span (except for video-games!).  So take lots of breaks to help them.  But don’t let them take too long a break,  5 minutes is fine.

So, if you have tried other ways and failed, try some of these suggestions.  One of them just might!                                   Kenneth