Nanny to Mommy

Homework can sometimes be a burden for children, especially when they begin to be given it and they have no idea of what is expected of them. This is where parents can step in and really help – children will be much more confident and successful if they have parental support at home as well as their teachers helping them at home. Of course, the child needs to do the work for themselves, as that’s how they will learn, but parents being supportive and giving helpful hints and information will never go amiss. Here are some tips on how to do just that.

At the beginning of each semester, parents should make time to speak to their children’s teachers to discuss what will be learned in the upcoming weeks and, if possible, what homework will be set. This way, parents have prior knowledge of what to expect, and if it’s not a subject they know well already, they can have some time to get to grips with it. This additional research time can be useful when it comes to larger projects – parents can collage any necessary supplies as well as the knowledge to help their kid out when needed.

It’s important that children have a dedicated space to do their homework in. Somewhere away from the distractions of the rest of the home. It needs to be quiet and comfortable, and the TV should be off. There should be plenty of school supplies, including pens and pencils, glue and scissors, and a good desk and chair. Leave them to work but be there if they need you – and always check over the homework before sending it back to school, just in case. You don’t need to fix the errors yourself, but just let your child know they are there and see if they can fix them.

You know your child best, and you’ll know when they are most productive. You’ll know whether they need to eat first or whether they can get straight in from school and start their work. Whatever works best for them, make sure that that time is kept just for their homework so that they can perform at their best.

There will be times when neither you nor your child knows the answer to a question. This is the ideal time to discover something together. The Internet is an excellent resource at times like these when a question can leave you both scratching your heads. Go online and work it all out, asking more questions as you go. This is a fantastic way for your child to start to understand the wider world around them, and you can be there to guide them through it.

If there is a lot of homework to do, your child will be best off making a plan. Parents can help here. If a child wants to work for half an hour and then take a 10-minute break, parents can time them and remind them to down tools at the right time. They can provide snacks and drinks and perhaps even get together to make something special like a Starbucks copycat iced white chocolate mocha recipe. They can make sure the child isn’t working too late or forgetting anything important. It is also essential that parents set a good example and are positive about the work – you don’t want your kid to have negative feelings about learning.