The moment of doing homework can lead to a conflict situation in which our child resists doing it or we lose patience. Therefore, it is good to know how to act so that doing homework does not become a big problem or become a source of conflict.
We must be aware that many times children end up tired from school, wanting to play and do activities that do not involve more concentration or study. For this reason, we have to be understanding and express to them that we understand that they are lazy, helping them understand that it is best to complete the task as soon as possible so that they can later do what they really like.
Below we will give you some tips so that you know what to do to make your child do his homework giving the support the child needs.
As a general rule, getting our children to do their homework is not easy; it can entail a daily struggle that ends up causing discomfort for both the child and the parents. There are different reasons that can make a child refuse to do homework, or not want to do it. When we get older and have other types of obligations linked to the adult world, it is easy to forget or downplay the obligations we had as children, but we must lose sight of the fact that It is normal that when finishing school it is difficult and lazy to continue doing homework
Likewise, there are also other variables that we must take into account, such as the difficulties that our child may have in some of the subjects due to his lack of knowledge due to several days of not attending class or not attending, loss of interest and motivation, whether the school curriculum shows an affordable level for the majority of students or not, etc.
For this reason, It is essential to know the reason for our child’s rejection or difficulty in doing homework in order to be able to face the problem in a more efficient and appropriate way.
The best way to get our children to do their homework and avoid conflicts is to be understanding and ensure that the conditions for doing homework are appropriate. Therefore, here you will find some tips that parents can follow to try to make their child more attentive and perform tasks with less difficulty.
1. Find a suitable space
If it may already be difficult to maintain attention on the task, we must ensure that the environment is not distracting for the child. So, We will try to have you work in a place without much noise, that is comfortable, that it has the appropriate tools to carry out the task… In short, that there are no distracting stimuli such as television, people talking or children playing nearby. We will also try to separate the play area from the study area or at least not have toys nearby while doing homework to avoid distractions.
2. Rest before starting the task
As we have already seen, it is normal for the child to be tired when leaving school and need time to disconnect, have a snack and regain strength to be able to start homework having a greater capacity for concentration and more desire.
Set an adequate time to be able to rest before doing the task, without it being too long and ending up producing the opposite effect to the desired one, which would make the child more tired. Negotiate that time with your son or daughter so that you are aware and thus reduce the probability of conflict due to wanting to rest more.
3. Accompany him
Since it is a task that you do not like, it will cost you more to start it; For this reason, it can help to look at the agenda with him to see the tasks he must do and organize which ones he should tackle first, or help him with those that may cost him more. It is not necessary to be by his side at all times, since we must also leave him autonomy but we can respond to your requests if at any time you need help.
4. Prepare before starting the task
To avoid distractions or interruptions during homework, thus making it difficult to concentrate, it can help to prepare all the material needed to do homework, so that you don’t have to get up. This way we will also give the child the opportunity to go to the bathroom first or have a glass of water nearby. so you don’t have to interrupt the task with any of these actions
We should not underestimate the abilities of children, it is true that it is necessary to adapt the language and way of expressing ourselves, but it is possible to reason with them. So try talking to him, be understanding, expressing that we understand that he may be lazy doing his homework, but helping you reflect so that you realize that doing them is the best option to learn achieve good results and rewards.
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6. Set goals and use rewards
One way to motivate children is by posing challenges that allow them to get prizes. Thus, it can be useful to agree on a homework time with our child so that he can then do the activity that he likes the most. We will make sure that she has done her homework so that we can let him choose what activity he wants to do, whether it be watching television, playing or going for a walk. For this reason, For these activities to work as reinforcers, it is necessary that they not do them before doing their homework but we reserve them for later.
It is also essential that they relate the reward or reinforcement to the fact of having completed their homework. That is, be aware of why we are rewarding you and if you do not get a reward, point out why we are not giving it to you.
7. Establish a routine
To help organize time and make the child aware of what period they should dedicate to doing homework, it’s good to establish a routine. That is, helping the little one know how much time we spend resting and snacking, how much time doing homework, and how much time we spend on rewards for having done our homework. This way it will be easier for him to do them alone or it will be easier for us to get him to do them without having to struggle too much.
8. Seek relevant help
As we have already seen, our son may show difficulties in some of the subjects. For this reason, It may be good for him to look for a reinforcement teacher or some academy that facilitate learning and thus reduce its difficulties. If the child acquires greater ease and sees himself as more capable, which is less difficult for him, it is more likely that it will be less difficult for him to start doing homework, since it will not seem so complicated.
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Parents are the role models for their children. It is thus important that we act correctly and not see in ourselves contradictions with what we ask of him. Try to get him to see a routine in us too, express to him that we also have work and that sometimes it may make us lazy, but that the subsequent reward is worth it.
Also try to motivate him and not tell you negative comments about your way of doing homework, making constructive criticism in any case. We know that doing homework is something you don’t like and would prefer not to do, we should try to present it in the best way possible. For example, we can motivate him by telling him that by doing homework he will be able to grow bigger and know more, be an older child, that he will be able to do the activity that he likes most later and that the sooner he starts, he will be able to finish it.
10. Allow short breaks while doing homework
Depending on your child’s grade and the amount of homework they have, it is normal that they should rest for short periods of time to refocus their attention and be able to concentrate. It has been proven that, as a general rule, people we can spend approximately 20 minutes effectively concentrating on a task influencing as expected also other variables such as the time we have been working.
Thus, it is recommended that every 20 minutes, if we feel less productive or in the case of more distracted children, we take breaks of about 5 minutes.
It is essential that during these breaks you cannot carry out activities that require a lot of time, since this is limited or activities that are very complex or distracting. You can take the opportunity to go to the bathroom, eat something or talk to us a little, activities that do not require a lot of concentration.
