Does your child take a long time to complete his homework? Are study hours fraught with tension and stress? As parents we feel disturbed when we see our children struggling through their homework. But, there are things we can do to help our children through the stress of homework.

First, identify what the problem is. Does your child have a problem with his vision? Several children have difficulty reading what is written on the blackboard, and therefore take a long time to copy notes and often end up missing portions of notes. It would be a good idea to get your child’s eye sight checked every six months or at least every year. Don’t wait for your child to complain about his poor eyesight. He may not even notice it until it gets really bad.

Some children have difficulty concentrating on a specific task. Children tend to get distracted easily, and lack of concentration sometimes is not indicative of attention deficit disorder. Children are learning and exploring the world around them, and everything are new and captivating to them. This explains why they tend to get distracted easily. When your child sits down to do his homework, make sure that he is not hungry or sleepy. Turn off the television, mobile phone and computer and ask him to devote some time only for his homework. Once he is done, he can play or watch television as he wishes.

Don’t yell or scold your child if he lags behind with his homework. This will make him more tensed and stressed out. An inability to grasp the subject matter and the stress of assignments which are due, tend to make the children tensed and your scolding them will only serve to increase it. Leaving assignments for the last minute also tends to increase stress levels. Keep a tab on the assignments of your child and their due date. Break large assignments into smaller and simpler task. Another point to remember is to check for any games or school activities which may clash with the date on which the assignment is due. In that case, make sure your child finishes the assignments before the scheduled date.

Let your child take a break in between his lessons so that he does not overload his memory. Short ten minute breaks will help clear his head and ease tension.

See if your child has difficulty tackling a particular subject. Maybe he just needs extra help to understand the matter of the subject or maybe his teacher’s method of teaching doesn’t get through to him. In that case, try to help him out with the subject or arrange for tuitions. You can also request your child teacher to send you the notes of the lessons taught each day, so that you can help your child with his homework.

This way he will be able to grasp the subject, and the homework won’t be so difficult anymore.

It is possible that your child has to spend long hours on homework because he does not pay attention at school. Discuss with your child teacher if this is so. Ask the teacher to let your child sit in the front row so that the teacher can keep an eye on him and interact with him.

Keep these pints in mind and help your child through the task of completing his homework. Your child will learn to finish his homework in time and will have more time for other activities. After all, life is not all about homework.

Jason Ladock

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