Just how much should parents help with homework (When is too much too much)?

Here are a few tips to help your child with homework, without taking over completely:

January 9, 2018

F.C Pelser 2 minutes read

When it comes to school homework parents are usually very involved, but how do you know if you are too much involved?

Whether it is helping with an assignment or trying to figure out the answer to a difficult math problem, parents do a lot to help their children understand their work and do the best that they can.

According to child psychologist Sharon Cromwell, the most important thing a parent can do is to not get overly involved in their children’s homework. “The emphasis needs to be on parents helping children do their homework themselves, not doing it for them,” she said.

Here are a few tips to help your child with homework, without taking over completely:

1. Review work:

Find out what your child learnt during the day at school and help them to summarize and review the work they have done shortly, before they start their homework. Doing this gives your child a chance to refresh their memories and enables them to finish the work themselves by referring back to explanations discussed in class.

2. Prepare for the next days class:

Even though it is not always possible there are some cases, like reading your child’s prescribed literature, where you can help prepare for the next day’s class. This does not mean that your child should spend hours preparing for the next day’s work, however it can help your child focus on important work when they prepare in advance.

3. Use different resources:

Researching different theories or using different resources, can sometimes help your child understand work better. It is not always possible to find a teacher that can accommodate your child completely since there are many children in a class. In cases where your child did not necessarily understand their school work because of the teachers approach to teaching, it may be helpful to reference different sources, when doing homework with your child.

4. Be the student and let your child be the teacher:

Sometimes children have the answers to their own questions already they just struggle to focus. Help your child with this by letting them explain the work to you. By taking the role of the student and asking questions rather than providing answers you allow your child to focus on the right aspects of the work and finally better understand the work.

5. Do not finish their work for them:

A lot of times children tend to leave important work, like assignments, for the last minute. In these cases parents tend to take over control and finish the work for their children. Rather give your child the necessary resources to help them finish the assignment on their own.