There’s nothing like getting home at the end of a long day, sharing dinner with your family, cleaning the last dirty dish, and then bringing up the topic of homework with your child. “But mom,” your child cries, “I don’t want to do homework!” Do you find yourself having homework fights with your child?
As a parent, it’s natural to want your children to want to learn and to want to do their homework, but what about when they just aren’t interested? Unfortunately, even the best and most attentive teachers sometimes give assignments that aren’t particularly interesting to a child. There are a few ways, though, that you can encourage and help your youngster with his homework even if he just doesn’t seem interested.
First of all, make sure your child understands the assignment. Sometimes an assignment might be hard to understand and might therefore be “boring” to your kid. Make sure your youngster understands exactly what the teacher is asking and what he needs to do to finish the assignment. If your child has any questions about what is expected of him, make sure you clarify for him.
Secondly, try to bring the assignment to life for your child so it sparks an interest. For example, if your child has to write a report on one of the presidents but just doesn’t seem to care about how American government works, consider finding out some unusual facts about one of the presidents and letting your child focus on that, or help your child pick a president from his home state so it means more to him.
Incorporate rewards into your child’s homework time as an incentive. For example, if your child completes his homework without tears or arguing for an entire week, consider having a special family day at your child’s favorite place, going out for ice cream, or giving your child extra computer time.
Finally, try to avoid talking negatively about your child’s teacher. If you believe an assignment is too challenging or unfair, meet with the teacher to discuss it. If you say things like “your teacher is ridiculous” or “I don’t know what she was thinking,” your child may learn to disrespect his teacher to the point of not doing his assigned work while in class.