What should you do when your child refuses to do schoolwork, and there are epic battles every other day? How do you get them to willingly do their work without following them around, constantly telling them what to do, or yelling at them? What can you do when your child doesn’t get up from playing video games and refuses to work on their schoolwork?
The answer is simple, as shared on Domyhomework123. Don’t battle with your kids over homework. Let me explain why by listing the best tips for ending the homework battle with your child in a more cooperative way. I hope this will be helpful.
#1. Offer the homework help they need, not the amount you think they should do.
If a child needs help but is offering resistance, use one of my best tips for ending the homework struggle – offer just enough help to get him started independently.
If your child is struggling to do his homework because he needs help with writing, or arithmetic, or spelling, then by all means, give the help he needs. A little bit of extra assistance may get him back on track.
#2. Don’t nag them to complete their homework when they have a lot of other work to do.
I know that there are times when you feel it is important for them to sit down and complete the whole thing. I get that. But if they have a lot of other things to do, then the homework battle is just going to get worse.
You can’t make somebody want to do their homework any more than you can make them want to eat their vegetables. It just doesn’t work that way. It is a battle that you will never win.
#3. Don’t expect them to be motivated by grades and consequences alone.
If your child feels forced into doing homework, they will resent it and do it poorly. If they don’t like doing the work in the first place, telling them that they will get a bad grade if they don’t do it will not make it any better.
#4. Don’t focus your attention on what you see as their weaknesses or failures in life.
A lot of parents just can’t help themselves from obsessing over their child’s weaknesses. It just can’t be helped, so don’t beat yourself up about it.
I am not saying that you should never correct their homework or try to get them to improve on it. It is simply a reality that sometimes you will need to help them with the work. But don’t focus on the areas where they are struggling.
Think about it this way – if your child has a problem in math, but you focus all of your attention on the fact that he can’t multiply or divide, he is not going to get any better about his math weaknesses.
Focus instead on how you can help him with his weakness and teach him how to do those things better.
#5. Don’t argue with them about the homework.
If you can’t get your child to do his work without arguing with him, then the problem is not that he will not do his homework; you will not do your homework.
You are one of the most influential people in his life, and if you cannot be on top of your part of the work, it will be a problem for him in school and at home.
#6. Don’t let him fool you into doing his work for him.
It is natural for parents to want to help their children out if they struggle with a particular assignment. But this is not going to help your child learn how to be responsible. Plus, consider the consequences if you do end up doing his homework for him, and he gets a bad grade. What will he think of the whole thing? He’ll probably just do everything himself and never trust you again.
#7. Don’t bore them to tears with your lectures about how important it is to do well in school.
If you want them to listen, make it fun. Use a game show format or explain it like you would leave a message for your best friend. You have to be creative if you want to keep them interested and paying attention when the subject is homework. You can click here to learn more about subjects.
If your child is struggling with their homework and you are doing all the work for them, it might be time to take a look at the things that they are failing with and try to help them.
Therefore, you need to find the right way to help your child through all of this. It’s not easy or always fun, but it can be done.