The mere mention of homework brings back lot of memories for each one of us, most of which are not so pleasant. Homework stress is unavoidable, and everyone experiences it. For children homework is a big part of the curriculum. The stress may overwhelm your child and make him frustrated, this having a negative impact on his ability to focus and retain the information learnt. This might lead the child to procrastinate his homework and sometimes not completing it at all. This adds to the stress and becomes a cycle of stress and procrastinating. This eventually leads to poor performance in class and lower grades. Learning how to manage homework this becomes necessary in order to achieve a stress-free learning environment. 

One of the main reasons for stress in kids is too much homework, leading to negativity around kids. As parents we acknowledge the homework burden and sometimes accept it that way. Well, homework doesn’t have to be all about stress and frustration. And neither does it have to be the worst part of your child’s day. A better understanding of how to deal with the homework can make life easier for both children and parents. 

Here are 10 tips to help your child and you as well deal with the homework burden and stress.

1. Set A Scheduled Time for Homework

Every child has a different pace of doing work. Some kids will do the homework properly as soon as they come from school while some need a small break before jumping into homework. As a parent you must figure out what works best for your child. But it is important to stick to this routine for consistency.

Moreover, parents must make it sure not to delay the homework time later in the day as the tired kids will have the least focusing ability at that time. 

2. Develop A Relationship with Your Child’s Teacher

It is very important for parents to have clear communication and contact with their child’s teacher at all times and understand if they need any homework help or some professional homework writer to assist them in understanding the concepts. Feel free to discuss with teacher about your child’s feelings towards homework or any stress they are going through. This open communication is important for child’s benefit. Whether the child is feeling overwhelmed or if the homework amount is too much for the child, let the teacher be aware of this so that they too may help in managing the homework burden on child.

3. Create A Call List – This Is Best for Forgetful Children

Starting from the kindergarten parents must develop a practice to keep contact numbers of few parents of your child’s classmates. Sometimes the child forgets the to do list for home and might have to face stress later. At this instance, these contacts will be helpful for cross checking the homework and other information. Save yourself and your child from unnecessary stress this way.

4. Build Confidence in Your Child

Though this is important for every child, its benefits are more pronounced for kids who feel intimidated very easily. When a child doesn’t get something instantly, they may feel stressed and lack of confidence. They may feel they are not smart enough and might shut themselves out. Parents can face this situation by sitting with the child and figuring out the problem together. Choice of words is crucial and must be always encouraging and not de-motivating. This alone will be encouraging enough for the child to give the problem another shot and crack it. Phrases like, ‘You did such a great job. Let’s try another one. I am so proud of you’ are magical in elevating stress and all the burden of homework and studies. 

5. Lighten the Load – Cut it into half

You read it right. If your child feels overwhelmed of the homework, just reduce the load to half for that night and see the magic. This is beneficial if:

• The child is unable to understand that assignment.
• The assignment is out of the material that the child has studied or is vague.
• The child had a long day full of classes, extra-curricular activities, sports, etc. and looks exhausted.

The child if looks lost and is unable to grasp the homework at all, it is a good idea to excuse him for that day entirely. Sometimes shortening the homework is enough. It is better to excuse the child for one day than burdening him and stressing a lot.

6. Change the Scene

Sometimes a simple thing like changing the place of the child doing his homework can spike up the child’s motivation and then the confidence. Same place can be monotonous and when you change the spot, the interest is alive, and focus is more while studying.

7. Keep on The Positive Feedback Coming

Some kids need constant positive remarks and feedback from the parents to get them going. This is great to do if it works for your child. Simple boosting sentences like ‘I am proud of you’ or ‘You did that so well’ are examples of instilling positivity in your kids. When you use specific praises then the child inclines to work even better by doing it again. 

8. Leave the Room If Necessary

Sometimes kids drag things and that is usually to gain your attention and presence. In these situations, it is best for the parent to leave the room and not fuel this action. Leave your child alone and let them finish their homework before they can again have your attention. 

9. Make time to Relax

‘All work and no play make Jack a dull boy’. That’s an old proverb which is true to the core. Let your child relax. Take him out for a walk, an ice-cream date, small chat, maybe a game in your backyard. Small things like this help your child relax after a long day at school and connect with you emotionally – very important for young minds. And after this when they will get down to do homework, the new energy will be refreshing. 

10. Let Them Vent

Big kids, specially, just need to vent out their emotions to feel lighter and stress free. Parents must listen them without preaching. Just listen and many times that’s what they need. Stress will go and burden will be reduced. 

It is important for learning to handle the burden of homework. Parents can help kids learn techniques to handle this for stress free academic life.