Kids and Homework

I sit with my 5 and 6 year old and watch everything they do when they are doing their homework. I make my 11 yr old sit at the table and do hers while I am making dinner or doing something on the computer but I don't bother her unless she asks for my help. After she finishes I read whatever it is she has done to make sure it is right. (The things you don't realize you have forgotten until you read them again in a 6th grade text book) If she misses something I make her do it again. My mother used to ask me as I was coming in the door from school if I had homework and I would ALWAYS say no. She never once opened my book bag to check for herself. The only reason I was such a good student was because stupid people (like my mother) started annoying me at an early age and I was determined to never turn out like them. The more a parent is involved in all aspects of their childrens lives the better the chances those children have not only in school but in life. Another great discussion! Wow, you are on a role this morning.

When our boys were going to school, they did their own homework and we helped out when they asked. Of course, me being horrible at math, my husband did that end, and me being good at literature and spelling, I did that part, but really our sons were so smart that they did not need my help. Usually it was when they finished their homework and we were watching television that we started to discuss things. I do not think the parents should do their children's homework but they should be teaching their children outside of the school's venue.

I let my 10 year old son do it on his own until he needs help. He is really struggling in math so I help him a lot with that. All his other subjects he does great and when I check his work they are usually all correct. My daughter who is 8 only has spelling words on Fridays and we go over that and do practice tests. I think it is very important to be involved with your child's homework. You're not only helping them but you're are also spending quality time with them, one on one which is very important when you have more than one child.

I think you have to be careful. My children are grown but my granddaughter had a slight problem with decimals and their sizes a couple of weeks ago. I tried to explain it logically to her, but it seems that perhaps the methods of teaching are somewhat different to when I was at school. I'll give credit where credit's due though. She did listen, and eventually picked it up. Afterwards, she told me that they had not learned about decimals in class properly yet, but she had been given this homework. Now, I don't think that's fair and in that case, they would certainly need a little tutoring from parents. Brightest Blessings.

I won't sit with my kid when they do their homework. I will help them if they need help and I will check their homework when they finished. Sitting beside my kids doesn't help much as they will start to ask every single question without thinking.

I always get my daughter to sit up at the table an hour before dinner, so while im cooking i can make sure she is doing her homework plus if she does get stuck iam able to help her if needed.. i find it works better her sitting at the table doing it instead of her being up in her room as ive let her chill in her room before and do her homework and shes got a lot of it wrong or didnt do most of the homework. I dont sit with my daughter watching her every move while shes doing her homework as i find she gets a little worried of what im thinking while shes doing it and gets up set thinking she is doing the homework wrong (bare in mind shes 7yrs old), if i leave her to it sitting doing her homework she tends to do great with it.. I do feel a parent should be involved with their child when doing homework, that way you get to see you child doing their homework and how they are doing. plus if they get stuck and need a little help by explaining something to them, you would be there to do so..

My daughter (who is 7 and in 2nd grade) usually does her homework in my dad's room where she has a little desk and her siblings can't bother her. She usually has him check it and asks him for help. Her preference. Even if he isn't home she does her homework up there then has me check it. My son is 6 and in Kindergarten and only has homework once a week. he does it in the dining room. All he has to do is draw pictures of things that start with the letter of the week so I call out things I can think of and he decides if he wants to draw them or not. I prefer to let them do their homework on their own and if they need help I help them. I check it and if it looks like they are struggling we'll go over it. I know as a kid I HATED having people hang over me when I did my work, whether it was my parents or teachers. HATED, HATED, Hated it. It made me so self conscience. I always ended up getting way more wrong when people were watching me do my work. My thought was if I needed help I would ask. Having people stare at me or watch me as I wrote made me nervous. I think parental involvement is dependent on the child. Some kids need more supervision then others. My 4yo is in preschool and has to do a worksheet for each day she goes and she draws all over it and makes a mess of her paper if no one watches her (she's going to be my homework troublemaker). My oldest is pretty self-sufficient and very smart. Most of her work is too easy for her, except her math but she usually figures it out on her own. I don't remember ever asking my parents for help with homework past the 5th grade. By then I had passed my mom's level of comfortable knowledge. She didn't feel qualified to help me anymore.

Well Sandhya, when my child started studying, I used to sit beside him all the time and guide him personally. Then when he was around 5 / 6 yrs, I started giving him some freedom. Like I would give him a lesson to do and roam around the house doing some work. I wanted him to start and enjoy doing things on his own. But I was just a call away. I am still following this model, specially with revision exercises and maths. However, of late I have seen him become very unmindful, rude and sulking. He is doing nothing, chewing the pencil maybe and when I come into the room, he is suddenly behaving as if he is studying very hard. I have not yet confronted him (I don’t like confrontation), but I think I will go back to sitting besides him all the time. At 8½ yrs, he is still a child and needs the mother’s touch. PS: Day after tomorrow is the wedding, so I will be off Mylot for some days at least and will not be able to go thru your response immediately. Sudipta

hi sviswan! ^__^ well, i don't have any kids but in the future i will. when that time comes and they reach the age that they are going to school, i will definitely help them with their homework whenever they have one. i just think that parents has a major role in the studies of their kids. not only that they can help answering the homework per se, but they can teach their kids on how to be patient in answering a homework, teach them how to be resourceful on where and how to get the answers, and sort of build their confidence since finishing their homework means being prepared for the next class. ^__^

well... since i am working... normally, the children would do their homework on the kitchen table while i am preparing dinner... i do like to sit with them while they do their homework... mostly because... i need to make sure they REALLY DO it - =( it gets less harder as they get older, and understand that they need to finish their schoolwork, for the Year-1 (Primary One)... who still prefers to watch the Cartoon Network rather than finish her schoolwork.. i really need to sit down and watch her till she finishes... i dun give answers to their work.. rather,.. i'd tell them how/where to find it... i think it is important for them to see that i am serious about their schoolwork.. for them to take it seriously as well...

my son is already 9 years old and in his third grade. when he comes home from the school i immediately asked him if there were homeworks to be done or things that need to bring to the school. when he say yes, i let him do it after taking dinner so that his brain will function more and is already rested. after which i will check if it is finished. my son never hesitate to ask me if he cant do his homework or he needs help. but sometimes i felt guilty when unavoidable circumstance came and i forgot to ask or check at least his homeworks. Parents involvement are very important in my opinion, because it builds bonding with quality time, ask him or let your child tell stories what had happened in the school the whole day.it makes us more closer to our kids.

Hi, I do feel bit sympathetic when I see kids doing homework as a burden. If I feel it I may sit and do it for them. I hope those education is not by giving home work as a burden let them do it when they feel do it if they like to do that. These homework may adversely effect their mental power being unable to face those real problems of life that are to taught in school. If a man do have many degrees and finally walks through a road and get into accident it all gone were as a person who is enough to use his mind to just look left and right is be secure and cross road is more better than those degrees earned. I homeworks are to compensated with practical works that might be not a burden, home works to face the world and its problems.

OK this is how it works I have 4 out of 5 of my kids in school one doesn't get homework yet because she is in pre k and the other 3 do. LOL!! They all come home and I make them sit at the dinning room table and do their homework if the need help I'm at the computer desk not far from them ...I then procede to help them. Before their homework can be deemed as done I check over everyones homework if I find some wrong answers I sit down go over them and help the work it out to get the right answers.. That way I don't have to be on top of them and they get their space and can feel that they are very capable of doing their homework on their own but know mommy will help and be there to explain anything that they need. LOL!! I find that a parents involvement is very important that is why I always check everything they do so that if there are mistakes I can help show them and help them to work it out and learn how to do it properly.. Have a nice one.

Sitting down as a parent whilst your children do there homework is very important in my belief. On the other hand though "How many parents actually have the time to do this?" I have 3 children, 2 that go to school and a toddler. I don't have the time to sit down for hours with my 2 children whilst they do there homework. I am basically trying to keep the younger one happy and out of there way, as to not distract them, and then help them when it's needed.

As an educator I will say that it is important you know what homework your child has, but that you make them responsible for doing it. If they do not understand it, but you do, help them, but be sure to let their teacher know that they needed help to do it. If you honestly feel that it is beyond them, or that there is too much, be prepared to discuss this with the teacher. Reasonably and coherently. Tell them why it is too much or that they cannot understand it.

Since you didn't mention an age group, I will say that I do not sit down with my children when they do their homework. Of course I have a grade 9 student and a grade 6 student. When they were smaller I would sit down with them, but mostly I let them come to me when they need help, otherwise they are on their own. I mean really, when they get to those higher grades, EVEN I don't know the answers to the questions, especially math. It is totally foreign to me. My 14 year old did ask me for help with high school English the first month. It was all very new to her. I did help her out but told her she had to learn to do it herself, just like problems with courses and uniforms and stuff. Mommy is no longer there to hold her hand. She is a young adult and has to learn how to handle things on her own. I WILL step in only when necessary. And of course she will always find an ear in me. As for my 11 year old, I have made it clear to her teacher that I cannot help her in most cases and the teacher agrees that it is up to the student to make an attempt and if they have difficulty to ask the teacher for help. But we are always asked to sign assignments and tests so I am fully aware of my children's progress.

I believe that too many parents are too involved in their children's homework. They do it for them, instead of allowing the child to learn from their mistakes. We help our children if they have a question, or are unclear about something, but for the most part, they are responsible for their own work.

Well, I have five kids, and four of them are in school, so I have to split my attentions during homework time. My oldest is 12, so while I am in the same room as he is, I let him do his work and am available for questions. Same with the 10 yr old. Now the 6 and 8 yr olds are another story. They won't actually do the work, unless I am right there. So the three of us sit at the dining table until they are finished. I typically do this with each child until they reach the fourth grade, which is when they know that mom expects them to act responsibly and complete their homework assignments. That being said, I still help all of them study for their tests. I fully believe that a child will be more successful in school if their parents are involved.

I am fortunate, my son is 9 and does his own homework, without my help and I just have to review it for errors. My stepson has a learning disability and we have to sit and do it with him. Sometimes it seems like we are doing the homework and he is just copying down what we tell him to. Seems ridiculous to me, but his LD teachers tell us keep on keeping on, so we do...

Very important when raising my children that was the first thing they did when they got home. This went on for years then one day my son said to me Mom if i keep my grades up can i do my homework when i want to? So i gave him until report card time to prove it to me and do you know his grades went up. I was lucky now my boy has graduated for Florida state and has a darn good job.