7 Stress Reducing Strategies for Dealing with Homework

Homework time can be a stressful part of the evening for the child and her parents. While homework should be challenging, it should not be stressful or anxiety provoking. If your evenings are filled with stress over homework, here are seven strategies that might alleviate some of the pressure.

1. Develop a specific homework time for each evening. The length of time should depend on the age and needs of your child. (Talk to your child's teacher to develop a good amount of time). If your child finishes early, use the remaining time to study for an upcoming test, practice sight words, math facts, or read a book. When he knows that he has an hour for homework no matter what, it will help eliminate the urge to rush through an assignment or lie about having homework completed early. If your child is consistently taking longer than the set amount of time, have a conference with the teacher to determine if the assignments can be reduced or altered.

2. Consider your child's needs. Many people recommend the homework time be right after school. That is good for some children, but other children need some time after a long day at school to relax prior to exerting the mental energy needed to do quality work. Other children will find it refreshing to have the homework completed right away and have a free evening to look forward to. Talk with your child and pick a good time that coincides with the family's schedule but is an alert time for your child.

3. Schedule breaks if needed. Some people do not have the staying power to complete a task from start to finish without taking a break. If your child needs a break, allow it. It may even be helpful to break the homework up and do a portion of it right after school and the other portion at a separate set time. Breaks can be an incentive as well (Ex. "If you give 20 minutes of hard work to finish your math, you can have a ten minute break before reading")

4. Help your child stay organized. Require that your child use an assignment book, notebook, and/or homework folder. This helps your child to see what needs to be completed and helps the parent to ensure that it is complete. Staying organized helps ensure that homework assignments come home and the completed homework gets back to school.

5. Keep good communication with the teacher. When a child knows there is a unified front with home and school, there is a greater chance for compliance. Parents who talk regularly with the teacher and know the assignments are often better able to help the child be successful.

6. Reward hard work rather than using punishments. Hard work should be rewarded with praise, free time, or other rewards that are meaningful to your child. Focus more on her effort, than the perfection of the homework. When habits are being formed, it will be easier if the child feels good about completion (even if it is an extrinsic reward for awhile). However, if your strategy is to punish noncompliance, children will dread the homework even more, possibly creating a bigger battle as years go on.

7. Stay positive. If he sees that you are frustrated, it will make him frustrated. Try to keep a positive attitude. When your child is frustrated, offer a break to allow him to calm down and try again in a better frame of mind.

Feel free to comment if you have any other suggestions that have been helpful!